Hurricane Ike Strikes: Appeal

CRWRC Newsroom | September 15, 2008

Hurricane Ike struck from Galveston, Texas, through Lake Charles, Louisiana, on September 13 with winds of 110 miles per hour and a powerful 25 foot storm surge. Residents of east Texas and southwest Louisiana were still recovering from 2005’s Hurricane Rita before this storm hit.

CRWRC’s Disaster Response Services (DRS) volunteers were already in the area, poised to begin reconstruction work for another year in Lake Charles and Port Arthur, Texas--another community heavily impacted by Hurricane Rita.  On Monday, September 15, these volunteers returned to the communities, starting the process of clearing debris and assessing the damage from Hurricane Ike.

A DRS Rapid Response team also departed with equipment from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to help with immediate clean-up needs. As community leaders begin to understand the full impact of Ike, additional volunteers will be sent to help plan the recovery and conduct “needs assessments.” A “needs assessment” is an interview process through which volunteers help the local long-term recovery organizations identify individuals in their community with the greatest need. Those identified will be added to the list of homeowners that CRWRC-DRS volunteers assist through home reconstruction projects in the coming months and possibly years.

More damage by Hurricane Ike means expanding CRWRC-DRS Rapid Response, needs assessments, and reconstruction efforts in the Lake Charles and Port Arthur areas. This will require more volunteers, tools, and construction materials.  In total CRWRC seeks to raise $1 million to assist low-income individuals and families as they strive to recover from this latest tragedy.

You can help CRWRC-DRS reach out to individuals and families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Ike.

Donate online today, designating your funds to “Hurricanes 2008”.

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