Subject: Hurricane Katrina Update
Date: Mon, 05 Sep 2005 00:17:00 -0500
From: Ken Treybig
Dear brethren,
I once again have good news. Dr. Avent spent 12 hours driving to and from the Covington/Slidell area today checking on members. All are safe, though some are working on damage to their homes or property. In addition, a few more members from all three congregations in LA and MS were located and are safe. So the number of members that have not been contacted is slowly dwindling. One large extended family from Slidell whose house had about five feet of water in it did not evacuate and as the water rose they retreated to the attic and had to stay there for two days before they could get out. They later were able to get to Lake Charles, LA and are on their way to Houston where Ken Giese has arranged some temporary "extended stay" housing for them. Those members who stayed or have returned to their homes all said they were getting along OK for right now. Food and water are becoming less difficult to find--but gasoline is still in very short supply because most stations don't have power. The few stations that do have power all had police officers there to maintain order. There are many power company trucks in the area and power is very slowly being restored--beginning with areas along the Interstates which are the main traffic arteries.Since Andy Burnett has not been able to get through to Rick Avent, and Rick Avent is not able to call out, I connected them on a 3-way call tonight so they could talk with each other and discuss the additional members they've located, talk about how to help those who have stayed behind, and discuss the possibility of holding services next Sabbath so members will have the option of getting together to find out more of how everyone fared. Most have very little information about other members due to sporadic phone service--if any. A few members are already back at work--including a few that work for companies in the New Orleans area and one who works at a hospital on the west side of New Orleans. The cleanup of members' property is going to be a huge job--and a prolonged one. As more power is restored and evacuees are told they can return home, there is certain to be more help needed.
Rick Avent took some photos today and since Andy Burnett only has dialup where he's staying in Little Rock, I have posted the photos on a special page on my Website and will send them the link. If you'd like to view them you can click here.
Tomorrow I'll try to contact our elder in the Houma area to relay information to Rick Avent about whether he should try to visit the families in that area. I'll update you more tomorrow night. Again, your prayers are very deeply appreciated.
--KT