Hurricane Rita - Sep 2005

Abstract

Urban flooding is an increasingly important issue. Disaster statistics appear to show flood events are becoming more frequent, with medium-scale events increasing fastest. The impact of flooding is driven by a combination of natural and human-induced factors.

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What we build: So much more than houses

Building and repairing homes has always been our identity. In fact, we are very grateful to all those who helped Habitat for Humanity serve almost 75,000 families worldwide last year-almost triple the number of five years ago. But the heart of Habitat is not bricks and sticks. It is the desire to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ by reaching out to help those in need of a better place to live. When we ask, "What will you build?" there are so many answers, because we build so much more than houses.

Disaster Response: Recent Case Studies in Response

Since 1994, FOCUS has provided a full spectrum of emergency response activities from first -response to extended relief and recovery support. When FOCUS responds to a disaster, it is able to call upon a pre-positioned pool of volunteers from within the Ismaili Muslim community in the country of the intervention.

Hope can only move on Disaster is a starting point. It's the beginning of a story about recovery, about resilience, about reclaiming inch by inch what was destroyed in an instant.

Five years ago, on Aug. 29, Hurricane Katrina roared onto the U.S. Gulf Coast, launching a chain of natural and man-made catastrophes that killed more than 1,800 people and did $135 billion in property damages.

Editorial

In a new decade, humanitarian actors are facing immense challenges. The number of people affected by climate disasters will continue to rise, having a huge impact on migration and livelihoods of millions of people, as was reported in our latest issue of Coping with Crisis.

Furthermore, as of 2008, 16 major armed conflicts were active in 15 locations around the world, an increase from the year earlier.

Funds to help build homes in partnership with families affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita

ATLANTA (August 20, 2009) - Habitat for Humanity will receive a $3,263,565 donation from the People of Qatar to help build houses in partnership with families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

A total of 44 homes will be built by 14 Habitat affiliates located along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama.

In 2006, Habitat for Humanity International received a $22 million grant from the People of Qatar to help in the long-term recovery of …

Washington_(dpa) _ Hurricane Gustav, the monster storm that sent 2 million Gulf Coast residents fleeing and wrote political history, spared Louisiana and its empty city of jazz the horrors they had been bracing for, although it took 12 lives.

By early Tuesday, Gustav had whimpered back down to a tropical storm, the National Hurricane Centre reported. As it travelled across the Caribbean and Cuba over the last week, however, it had killed 80 people with winds of up to 249 kilometres per hour.

There was some damage from winds of 177 kilometres per hour and some minor flooding.

Volunteer Training Program Launches with Disaster Simulation

Kendall Hebert, Director of Public Relations, Louisiana Capital Area Chapter

While many people want to help during disaster relief efforts, having the right training is essential to an effective response.

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Financial assistance to state and local governments to help repair or replace infrastructure throughout the Gulf coast damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has topped the $10 billion mark, according to officials at the U.S.

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, April 02, 2008 - The American Red Cross announced today an extension of mental health assistance and other benefits to Hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors living in the hardest-hit areas of southern Louisiana and south Mississippi.

WASHINGTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has expanded its effort to identify and evaluate alternatives to FEMA trailers and mobile homes for housing people in the aftermath of a disaster.

Release Number: 1603-745

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched its relocation assistance program in August 2007 to help with moving and transportation costs for families who wanted to return to Louisiana or move into more permanent housing. To date, this program has helped 658 families, another 178 will soon move and tens of thousands more are eligible.

Over 1.2 million households were forced from their homes following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

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Hurricane Felix

Hurricane Felix came ashore on Tuesday morning in northeast Nicaragua, near Punta Gorda, as a category five storm. Hurricane warnings have also been issued for eastern Honduras.

Release Number: HQ-07-042

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding Donald E. Powell, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson and FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison announced today that the temporary housing assistance programs for Gulf Coast hurricane victims have been extended by 18 months until March 1, 2009. The current FEMA extension ends on August 31, 2007.

HUD and FEMA are also working on a plan whereby HUD would take over management of the rental housing program on behalf of FEMA beginning on September 1, 2007.

NEW YORK and AMERICUS, GA -- Nearly one year after announcing a landmark partnership to repair the homes of low-income Gulf Coast families, Church World Service and Habitat for Humanity International are extending their work to repair 600 additional homes damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The announcement of an additional $1 million funding from Habitat granted to Church World Service comes as both agencies were recognized today for their partnership in rebuilding following the devastating storms.

The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) today awarded …

A Partner Effort

Church World Service has been stalwart in administering recovery efforts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi - providing more than $6 million in relief and recovery assistance since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck. CWS-supported long-term recovery groups allow communities to assess and address their own needs by identifying and helping those who can't recover independently.

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Indonesia

Earthquakes hit Sumatra, Indonesia

At least 72 people were killed in West Sumatra when a pair of earthquakes hit on March 6.

Hundreds of people were injured, overwhelming local hospitals and health facilities. Many were being treated under temporary tents.

This follows another disaster: After five days of heavy rain, landslides hit parts of Musa Tenggara Timur province, about 900 miles east of Jakarta, on March 2. At least 40 people were killed and 30 are still missing. Dozens of houses were destroyed and roads to the disaster site were cut off.

NCC Gulf Commission gives governments low marks

New York, February 21, 2007 - On Ash Wednesday, when many Christians around the world begin the season of Lent, a time of self-examination, a special commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) issued a report on how local, state and federal government in the Gulf Coast region have contributed to hardships for millions of victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

After more than a half a dozen post-Katrina trips to the Gulf Coast region and extensive on-the-ground analysis, the NCC's Special Commission on …

Release Number: 1606-274

AUSTIN, Texas -- Individuals and families in Texas affected by Hurricane Rita have received more than $988 million in disaster assistance, including grants from the U. S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and low-interest disaster loans from the U.S.

Twelve houses for Hurricane Katrina victims will be built April 23 to May 5, 2007.

At least 325 volunteers are being gathered by Baptist Builders, an initiative that brings together several Baptist groups to address poverty issues connected with Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Approximately five million Baptists in the United States are represented through the partnership between the American Baptist Churches in the USA, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Alliance of Baptists, and District of Columbia Baptist Convention.

Baptist World Aid is also …