Hurricane Rita to challenge American resolve      

[SEPT. 24, 2005]  Hurricane Rita is challenging the mettle of the American people, testing just what we are made of. Little could we imagine that last year's one-, two-, three-punch hurricane assaults that decimated the Florida coasts were just a warm-up of what was to come this year. That destruction took months of cleanup, and it doesn't begin to compare to the wreckage Katrina left and the yet-to-be-wreaked havoc Hurricane Rita promises.

Just to compare, Logan County Emergency Management director Dan Fulscher, who went to Florida for two weeks to set up a unified emergency command center last year, said that a 25-foot storm surge that hit the Florida coast went one-half mile inland. It left massive destruction of homes, trees, mud and pollution over the area, which took months of cleanup. You couldn't tell where to begin, he said.

Ivan was considered a horrible hurricane. Katrina is now estimated at eight to 10 times that, he said.

The 25-foot surge from Katrina that hit Louisiana went five miles inland and left the same impenetrable mess over a much more extensive land mass. Parts of New Orleans have not been helped yet, he said. There are parts of Gulfport, Miss., that have not been touched because of all the downed trees and wreckage.

Louisiana is now hiring residents for cleanup to supply jobs and help them back into their homes sooner.

When the cleanup is done, there will be whole communities gone, Fulscher said.

Now Rita is bearing down on Texas, chasing up to 200,000 evacuees who just escaped Katrina, and millions of Texans are joining them. About 1.5 million evacuees are being redistributed in the United States.

Rita's storm surge is expected to rival Katrina, and the storm is predicted to dump 12 to 18 inches of rain over the coastal areas.

An emergency operations center in Texas has been set up in anticipation of yet another long-term recovery cycle.

In the meantime, hospitals on the Gulf Coast are reopening at limited capability. There are many open-air field hospitals being set up, providing emergency surgeries and dental care on the streets.

Local hospitals, including Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, have been put on weekly reporting status to indicate what services they might offer evacuees.

Stories are beginning to surface that are painting a different face than what was has been reported in the media. Survivors making contact with family members are telling stories like that of an unnamed Logan County woman concerned about her missing aunt in Louisiana. Through the Logan County Emergency Management Agency, the aunt was found in a southern Illinois hospital, and her local relative was sent to be with her. A room was even provided for the Logan County woman. The aunt happily told her niece that she was treated well, and even her pets were transported to safety.

An Illinois State Police officer who went to serve in the first hours was stationed outside the Superdome, on the bridge, guarding prisoners. He was a part of the scene shown on TV. He returned to say that as much help and supplies came in as possible except when there was shooting. Then the helpers had to wait for their own safety and that of the evacuees. It was not at all like the media portrayed, he said.

Local, trained emergency personnel and equipment have been sent as requested to hardest-hit areas of Louisiana and Mississippi to assist in cleanup and recovery efforts.

Citizens have begun sending supplies and help to less restricted areas where the cleanup and rebuilding is beginning. Locally a couple of pastors, the Rev. Bob Coons and the Rev. Glenn Shelton, are coordinating a Logan County movement to assist evacuees. The Lincoln/Logan Relief Fund Office is located at 509 Pulaski St. in Lincoln.

See details: "Lincoln/Logan Hurricane Relief Office opens downtown."

Katrina and Rita evacuee prep

County board chair Bob Farmer, committee chairman Dick Logan, Mayor Beth Davis and Alderman Buzz Busby formed the Logan County Hurricane Relief Team in coordination with the Red Cross and the local emergency management agency. Twenty rooms have been secured that are available for two weeks' use and can be extended to four weeks. Sangamon County has 250 units available for placement.

Lincoln/Logan County stands ready to receive evacuees, Fulscher said. If anyone wants host a family in their home, the Logan County Emergency Management Agency can supply information on how to do that.

Anyone in need of shelter or further information can call Logan County dispatch at [phone] anytime or the Logan County Emergency Management Agency office during business hours at [phone].

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