One of the great things about living in Miami is that you get a hurricane every few years to keep you on your toes. I was here for Andrew in 1992 and Irene in 1999. Now I can add Katrina to the list of stories for future generations. One of the things you learn about hurricanes is that you have to maintain a happy-go-lucky attitude or you end up crying.
Don’t underestimate the despair that people in the delta will be going through this week.
My primary memory from Andrew is the sound of the doors on the house I was huddled in shaking and rattling as if an elephant were trying to break them down. I had friends who went from room to room as the roof of each room was torn off by the wind. They ended up huddling in a closet with a mattress over themselves. Tens of thousands were left homeless and without power for months. Irene brought flood waters so high we literally had to get out of our house in a canoe.
Katrina was only a category one hurricane when it hit Miami on Thursday night. But of course we were expecting it to be a relatively minor tropical storm. Winds above 90 mph were recorded just a few blocks from my house.
My family is fine: we suffered roof damage and lost some trees. We were without power for a day. Overall, no big deal.
But there are still hundreds of thousands in the Miami area without power. To get an idea of how uncomfortable this is, imagine going to sleep every night in a sauna. You don’t sleep. You toss and turn in a pool of sweat. Your kids are cranky and unhappy and bored. There is nothing cold in the house because your refrigerator stopped working five days ago. No milk, no ice, no cheese, no fruits and vegetables (a lot of the food that is left is covered with fruit flies, mold and worms). There is no garbage pickup because all garbage trucks are busy elsewhere, so your front yard is filled with rotting rubbish.
You would go shopping, but most of the grocery stores are closed. You would get gas for your car but most of the gas stations are closed.
And think about the bugs. You have to leave the windows open so you can get a breeze, but of course many air-conditioned homes don’t have screens. Your house fills with mosquitoes, cockroaches and flies.
So, you basically sit around your house trying to find the energy to clean up the garbage around you. Forget about going to work. Your work is finding food and/or ice for your family or gas for your car.
The situation for people in the delta will be hundreds of times worse. Katrina is a category 4 hurricane, which is the same as Andrew. Count on massive destruction.
So, what can you do to help?
1. Pray
2. Pay your tithing. The Church is usually one of the first humanitarian groups to respond. The Church has 18-wheelers filled with relief supplies that are on their way to New Orleans as you read this. The assistance goes directly to the people who need it.
3. Think about volunteering your time for hurricane cleanup in the delta in the weeks ahead. It is difficult to overestimate how much this is appreciated by the people sitting in what used to be their homes surrounded by garbage. The Church organizes parties of people who travel to areas affected by hurricanes. Last year I volunteered for cleanup after the hurricanes in Florida and it was very worthwhile. Bring your chainsaws and camping equipment. And your bug spray.