HURRICANE GUSTAV
This week I joined much of America in my concern as events unfolded. Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf Coast. As our hazmat team from Childersburg and Sylacauga, Alabama was activated on Sept. 2, 2008.
around 4:00 pm To go to Sumitom, AL and set up the hazmat trailor for the the purpose of showers for 375 refugees from Louisiana. We returned home on Friday Sept. 5, 2008.
While I don't know anyone in "real life" who lives in the New Orleans area, I met many refugees, about 375 in Sumitom, Alabama. They evacuated their home for Hurricane Katrina three years ago in August. And now for hurricane Gustav. When they returned home they, found nothing but a mess from all the damage.
During Katrina I went to Pascagoula, MS, with a cooking team and we served almost 50,000 meals during a 3 – 4 week period. Pics below. This was a local church from Sylacauga, Alabama, my home (The Sanctuary Church of God) that responded to the need of the people. The MS area we went to, when we arrived had no food or water for a couple of days and the area was in desperate need of help. This hurricane was a little different, the help was onscene or at the refugee's site immediately.
While the damage caused by Gustav may not have been as severe as that caused by Katrina. There are still many people who need shelter and food while they are evacuated from their homes, and once they are returned, They will have to repair damage to their homes and property.
Lynette Taylor (pictured on left) smiles as she packs early Friday morning at the 1400 Building on Bevill State’s Sumiton campus. Taylor had mixed feelings about going back to her New Orleans’ home.
After four days seeking shelter from the devastation left by Hurricane Gustav, evacuees staying at Bevill State campuses. Buses arrived at the Bevill State Sumiton campus just before 6 a.m. Friday and left just over an hour later with an escort by local police. Lynette Taylor of New Orleans said she was happy to be going back home, but she would never forget the people of Sumiton. “It’s almost like everyone here in Sumiton has become a part of my family,” Taylor said. “They’ve been here for us like no one else ever has. I am so thankful for everything they’ve done. I am happy to be heading home. My bed is going to be very comfortable after sleeping on a cot for a few days.”
“One of the refugees said that this experience helped her find herself,” Morrison said. “She said the kindness from our efforts gave her a different outlook on human beings and changed her life forever.”
It also gave me a different perspective as well, as I mediated on life and the unpredictable times that we live in. When the people were in Sumitom, AL and I seen what they were going through I thought a lot about the different cultures, Alabamians, and people from Louisiana. But we came together and everything worked out for the good just like the LORD promised in His book.
“When things like this happen, it makes you realized how blessed you are to be living in such a great community. It has made me want to do even more to give back to my community back home in Sylacauga.”
Barbara Bryant is a 70-year-old from New Orleans. She said she has been through 13 hurricanes and evacuated three times. She said she’s never received the outpouring of support that she’s had at the Bevill-Sumiton shelter.
“I just want to be able to tell the volunteers how wonderful they have been,” Bryant said with tears in her eyes. “The entire community has been generous, loving and sympathetic to all of us evacuees. I will never forget the love that I’ve been shown here, and I thank God for bringing me here.”
As a chaplain and firefighter this is an experience I will never forget.
I also spoke with a New Orleans resident, Benjamin Watson (pictured to the left). Whom I spent 3 days with at Bevill State Community College, and he seem to be making the most of his stay there. He helped us wash down the parking lot with the fire hose. As an evacuee he also tried to help with the emotional support of the other evacuees. Something always seem to be going on around him. He was happy to be alive, thankful.
Watson eyes moistened regularly as he talked about the situation now and the other hurricanes that has recently hit the coast causing Louisiana so many problems. He said he is not sure that he even wanted to go back. But he had to because he has a duty to help in assisting his community get back up and going. Watson spoke of the love in Alabama, “I don’t even want to leave” again his eyes teared up along with mine. “If I don’t have anything left, I have the Word Of God”, Watson replied. “This is not new for me. I pitched in during the 05 evacuation”, he added.
I went with the Sylacauga Fire Department and Childersburg Fire Department, with combined efforts we responded in a time of need to help the evacuees. We have a hazmat team that can suppy shower units for these people to shower.
Chaplain Robert Osbourn
Pics From Hurricane GUSTAV
Lynette Taylor in letter on right
Red Cross unloading suppies
Pics below are from Katrina
Bobby Davis above heads up the Sanctuary cooking ministry
Giving out water
this is a smaller pot, only about 900 servings
we have 3 pots (700, 900, 1200 serving size)
Big pot below
locals helping also
Blessing the food, we went down the road giving out
food to communities in Pascagoula, MS
Pic below about a block down the road
Little girl took the time to thank us
We cooked a lot of chili, But this pot came from everyones freezer. Before the meat went bad. We got the community to bring us all they had, We put everything together. Turned out to be the best meal we had.
Flag still stands above
Benjamin Watson
Pictured above (with Childersburg FF Tommy Chamberland) and to the right. In the article to the right
Members of the Sylacauga, Childersburg Hazmat team taking a break. Capt. Morgan Arnold leader of the hazmat team center of pic.
MP's at entrance to Bevill State College
2 pictures of the Hazmat trailor above (shower units)
Evacuee's children provided with a play area
you can see the hazmat team in the background
Notice the marking on the roof (body count)
Damage (seen alot of this)
Hazmat team in Mobile, AL 2005.
Airfeild in Moblie protected
RED CROSS, FEMA, HAZMAT TEAM MEMBERS
HAZMAT TRAILOR IN MOBILE 05
DAMAGE IN Pascagoula, MS
CAPT Morgan Arnold cleaning inside trailor
DAMAGE IN Pascagoula, MS
Evacuees coming into Birmingham, AL
unloading buses
The hazmat team was activated in August 2005. To respond to Mobile, Alabama after hurricane Katrina. They spent 30 days in the Mobile area with the shower units.
