For US citizens of ALL religious viewpoints - HOW are you going to help after Hurricane Gustav hits Louisiana?

Question

I know that there were actually people who called Hurricanes Katrina and Rita a "Judgment from God" on the people of the Gulf Coast in 2005 BEFORE the scale of the devastation was known (over 1600 dead, 1/2 million people displaced and OVER 15 BILLION in monetary damages) The Gulf Coast is STILL recovering from those two major storms.

With Gustav heading directly for Louisiana three years TO THE DAY after Katrina hit, what are people of ALL religious views in this country preparing to do to assist those of us who are in the line of fire before the damage has been repaired from three years ago?

Answer 1

According to the last report I saw, Gustav may land anywhere from Texas to Florida, so I'm not going to bank on it hitting Louisiana.

Whether or not Katrina or Rita were a judgment from God, Christians have a responsibility to help out the victims and show God's love to them.  The same will be true for the victims of this hurricane, and is true for the existing victims of the tropical storm that hit Florida last week.

If Louisiana is hit again with the kind of devastation that Katrina left, I will probably give locally to relief organizations.  I teach in a public school, so I won't be able to go there myself.  Some of the Katrina victims finished out their school year at my local high school.  If that happens again, I might be able to do things to help them here.

Answer 2

i am not sure what you want us to do, to be honest.  give money?  i would love to.  too bad every spare dime goes in my gas tank to get to and from work.  go help? i have a job. if i don't work, i lose my home.

i am all for helping, but this call comes a bit late, i think.  the damage from three years ago is not repaired for alot of reasons, but not because US citizens don't care - because our government didn't care enough to make sure resources were made available to help before and after the storm.

so, what did you do to help all of the farmers who lost their homes and crops again this summer?

Answer 3

Pray Ray Nagin never gets a vote next election,,???

Answer 4

My Church is loading trucks now with the materials and food that will be needed.  We have storehouses in the area with food and emergency equipment to will be distributed at the appropriate time.  This includes things you need but often overlook like chain saws and generators.  Last time we also had a couple thousand volunteers after the initial impact.  We will try to coordinate with other local churches or civic groups to use the resources.

We teach our members emergency preparedness.  We encourage them to have an appropriate stockpile of provisions.   We train a number of people in every community to use HAM radios.

Answer 5

I look to what I am capable of doing in these sorts of situations. If I do not have the financial resources or training needed to assist people in a disaster, it is unlikely that I can offer much to help with the victims immediate needs.

I can, and gladly will, send good thoughts towards those who may be impacted.

I can, however, find other ways to help people in my local community. I live in Northern California (also in the Foothills, consequently) here we have had disasterous fires over the past few months. I've donated clothing and food to my local disaster relief charity, as those who need it will get it quickly. One person cannot help everyone, but if you can help a few people as much as you can, it makes a difference.