Meandering Musings

When Category 4 Hurricane Dennis threatened the Alabama coast in July, Gov. Bob Riley ordered the mandatory evacuation of all of Mobile and most of Baldwin counties days ahead of landfall.

When Category 5 Hurricane Katrina threatened the Big Easy, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued a mandatory evacuation of the below-sea-level city 20 hours before landfall.

Dennis turned out to be not much worse than a severe summer thunderstorm for much of the coast. And Riley took a verbal beating as 500,000 people sat on jammed highways trying to return home.

Katrina, of course, turned out to be as catastrophic as feared, and state, local, and federal officials are drawing criticism for what's being called a bungled preparation and response.

Riley said in an interview this week that he was satisfied with the state's response to Katrina. Many local officials in south Alabama say they also are pleased. But some - even Riley - are wondering how Alabama would have fared if Katrina had landed directly on us, instead of Mississippi and Louisiana.

After facing three monster hurricanes within a year's time - Ivan, Dennis and Katrina - Riley said state officials have learned lessons, and gotten better, with each response.

Riley said the state prepared resources to move into storm-struck areas soon after the winds cleared. Alabama Emergency Management Agency director Bruce Baughman said the agency had arranged for 55,000 bags of ice, 164,000 gallons of water and 108,000 prepackaged meals.
( Read more... )

After Hurricane Ivan, Atmore Mayor Howard Shell berated the state as his people sat without ice and water for three days while listening to radio reports about deliveries in coastal counties. By contrast, Shell said, state assistance has been quick with the last two storms.

"We've had excellent communications after Ivan. I've got to say it was a learning experience for a lot of us," Shell said.

State Health Officer Don Williamson said the state has improved in establishing and staffing shelters for the sick and infirm. "We did a lot better. If you start with Ivan, we have done better with every response since Ivan," Williamson said.

Riley declined to compare Alabama's preparedness with Louisiana's and Mississippi's, but he defended his early evacuation order during Dennis in July.

"When we made that call on the evacuation the last time in Mobile, if it had gone into Mobile Bay, we would have seen the level of destruction that you see around Biloxi," Riley said. ( Read more... )

When Category 4 Hurricane Dennis threatened the Alabama coast in July, Gov. Bob Riley ordered the mandatory evacuation of all of Mobile and most of Baldwin counties days ahead of landfall.

When Category 5 Hurricane Katrina threatened the Big Easy, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued a mandatory evacuation of the below-sea-level city 20 hours before landfall.

Dennis turned out to be not much worse than a severe summer thunderstorm for much of the coast. And Riley took a verbal beating as 500,000 people sat on jammed highways trying to return home.

Katrina, of course, turned out to be as catastrophic as feared, and state, local, and federal officials are drawing criticism for what's being called a bungled preparation and response.

Riley said in an interview this week that he was satisfied with the state's response to Katrina. Many local officials in south Alabama say they also are pleased. But some - even Riley - are wondering how Alabama would have fared if Katrina had landed directly on us, instead of Mississippi and Louisiana.

After facing three monster hurricanes within a year's time - Ivan, Dennis and Katrina - Riley said state officials have learned lessons, and gotten better, with each response.

Riley said the state prepared resources to move into storm-struck areas soon after the winds cleared. Alabama Emergency Management Agency director Bruce Baughman said the agency had arranged for 55,000 bags of ice, 164,000 gallons of water and 108,000 prepackaged meals.
( Read more... )

After Hurricane Ivan, Atmore Mayor Howard Shell berated the state as his people sat without ice and water for three days while listening to radio reports about deliveries in coastal counties. By contrast, Shell said, state assistance has been quick with the last two storms.

"We've had excellent communications after Ivan. I've got to say it was a learning experience for a lot of us," Shell said.

State Health Officer Don Williamson said the state has improved in establishing and staffing shelters for the sick and infirm. "We did a lot better. If you start with Ivan, we have done better with every response since Ivan," Williamson said.

Riley declined to compare Alabama's preparedness with Louisiana's and Mississippi's, but he defended his early evacuation order during Dennis in July.

"When we made that call on the evacuation the last time in Mobile, if it had gone into Mobile Bay, we would have seen the level of destruction that you see around Biloxi," Riley said. ( Read more... )

Evacuees Moving Out of Shelters

Far from Hurricane Katrina's ruin on the Gulf Coast, Mitchell and Hazel Rodgers are among the first hurricane victims to settle this week into new RV trailers at Wind Creek State Park, across a lake from million-dollar real estate.

The populations of hundreds of Red Cross shelters are dropping daily as families move to temporary housing, some, like the 500 trailer sites at Wind Creek, more permanent than others.

"This is the type of living my wife and I always wanted. Back to Mother Nature," says Mitchell Rodgers, 54, a disabled shipyard worker whose Gulfport, Miss., trailer-park home tipped over and filled with water. "As soon as I can, I'm going to register to vote. I'm not going back to Mississippi."

{...}

Perspective may depend on circumstances. The new arrivals at Alabama's Wind Creek State Park get trailers 28 to 32 feet long; some would cost $40,000.

Red Cross volunteers "are helping me get baby clothes," says Suzanne Hughes, 18, from Kiln, Miss. She's 81/2 months pregnant and waiting for her fiancé to arrive.

"It's a really good community ... families that have kids, and the kids get attached to the atmosphere here," Hughes says.

Police officers patrol the park. Evacuees undergo background checks because the park could be home to 1,000 children. Evacuees are being hired as park workers. Sporting goods companies are donating fishing gear. South Central Bell is putting in phone banks, Dell is offering laptops. Cisco is providing Internet service.

"It would turn you into a Christian, even if you weren't," says Arthur Walker.

complete article here

-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Blitch
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 3:15 PM
To: Barry, Jennifer
Subject: Re: Let me know if there is anything we can do to help

Jennifer - thank you so much - we are all safe and opening an office in Baton Rouge next week, next to Skipper Post's office. Skipper has "adopted" our firm and we will be under his wing for a few months. (God bless Skipper and his staff!) I know my office survived the wind and flooding, but we don't know about the looting yet, or when we can return. The critical thing for all of our New Orleans firms is going to be cash flow - we need work to sustain our staffs - all of our current projects locally will be in suspension for months, and our accounts receivable won't start to pay again for several months, until a city and its basic services can be restored. My largest client - Memorial Hospital at Gulfport - has been devastated and all of the staff has no homes left! The magnitude of all of this is incomprehensible.

I hope that you can forward this to Norman Koonce - I think that AIA should immediately take the lead in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Who better than architects to put their arms around a complex problem, understand it, listen well, study hard, and develop solutions?

The city will need:

Stabilization - stop the water and drain New Orleans

Restore services - probably to the CBD first - where the wind and water was least - and the only damage was looting

Master Plan - develop an inclusive planning structure to start to identify the problems, prioritize the needs and decide what to do next

Implementation - Coordinate with federal, state, and local authorities the roll-out of the solutions and the plan to pay for it.

I am still traumatized by all this - it has been horrific and terrifying, and many other AIA minds can certainly improve on this start - but we need to move quickly - we need to find emergency funding for basic needs for our staffs.

Please know that our firm is ready to help - needs to help - has to help, the best way to avoid complete collapse in this catastrophe is to work and work hard. Please pass this along - Ron Blitch FAIA

---

-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Blitch
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 3:15 PM
To: Barry, Jennifer
Subject: Re: Let me know if there is anything we can do to help

Jennifer - thank you so much - we are all safe and opening an office in Baton Rouge next week, next to Skipper Post's office. Skipper has "adopted" our firm and we will be under his wing for a few months. (God bless Skipper and his staff!) I know my office survived the wind and flooding, but we don't know about the looting yet, or when we can return. The critical thing for all of our New Orleans firms is going to be cash flow - we need work to sustain our staffs - all of our current projects locally will be in suspension for months, and our accounts receivable won't start to pay again for several months, until a city and its basic services can be restored. My largest client - Memorial Hospital at Gulfport - has been devastated and all of the staff has no homes left! The magnitude of all of this is incomprehensible.

I hope that you can forward this to Norman Koonce - I think that AIA should immediately take the lead in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Who better than architects to put their arms around a complex problem, understand it, listen well, study hard, and develop solutions?

The city will need:

Stabilization - stop the water and drain New Orleans

Restore services - probably to the CBD first - where the wind and water was least - and the only damage was looting

Master Plan - develop an inclusive planning structure to start to identify the problems, prioritize the needs and decide what to do next

Implementation - Coordinate with federal, state, and local authorities the roll-out of the solutions and the plan to pay for it.

I am still traumatized by all this - it has been horrific and terrifying, and many other AIA minds can certainly improve on this start - but we need to move quickly - we need to find emergency funding for basic needs for our staffs.

Please know that our firm is ready to help - needs to help - has to help, the best way to avoid complete collapse in this catastrophe is to work and work hard. Please pass this along - Ron Blitch FAIA

---

ww1614

FORT McCLELLAN, Ala. - Housing at Fort McClellan has stood empty for the past six years, but staff there have hurriedly overhauled the facility to welcome some unexpected guests: Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The 12,000-acre Army base is one of several Alabama sites the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved to help house the thousands of people Katrina has driven into the state. After Gov. Bob Riley announced FEMA's approval, more than 2,000 local volunteers converged on the site during the holiday weekend to help with the "Labor of Love" cleanup event. "We were not expecting that many people to show up and we were thrilled," Miki Schneider, director of planning at the Fort's Joint Powers Authority, said. Schneider said Tuesday the fort was prepared to house about 1,000 people and awaited word from FEMA on when to expect the evacuees. She said the housing would be available for up to two years. FEMA will cover the cost of renovating and running the housing as part of disaster relief.

I was encouraged to read nearly 1,700 jobs for evacuees posted locally .  Of course it's only a tiny fraction of what's needed, but re-establishing life takes place on a local level and this is a practical way for local businesses to help. Also, state and local schools opening to increasing numbers of evacuees .

On a far, far more fivolous note (but this is the South and it's football season...and some vestiges of normal life have positive psychological impact). LSU (Louisiana State University- for those outside the SEC) is still playing Arizona State this weekend.  The game was originally to be played in Baton Rouge but has been moved to Arizona.  Old Miss had offered their stadium to LSU.  Arizona paid for LSU's team transportation and lodging and will donate all proceeds from the game to hurricane victims.  Next week the intention remains for the University of Tennessee to play LSU in Baton Rouge (Go LSU Tigers... 'cause Tennessee is EVIL! ...heh.)

Southern Mississippi still intends to play University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa tomorrow.  They had evacuated (and have remained) at the University of Memphis since the hurricane.  Last week there were people taking donations to the Red Cross at every entrance to the stadium.  I'm sure they will this week as well.

And my ankle is still sprained. The swelling has mostly gone away, but the ankle is still bruised (behind and below) and very tender. Still have it wrapped in ace bandage and sport tape as I hobble instead of walk. And, yeah, I've worn flipflops (even to work) since I fell.

I was encouraged to read nearly 1,700 jobs for evacuees posted locally .  Of course it's only a tiny fraction of what's needed, but re-establishing life takes place on a local level and this is a practical way for local businesses to help. Also, state and local schools opening to increasing numbers of evacuees .

On a far, far more fivolous note (but this is the South and it's football season...and some vestiges of normal life have positive psychological impact). LSU (Louisiana State University- for those outside the SEC) is still playing Arizona State this weekend.  The game was originally to be played in Baton Rouge but has been moved to Arizona.  Old Miss had offered their stadium to LSU.  Arizona paid for LSU's team transportation and lodging and will donate all proceeds from the game to hurricane victims.  Next week the intention remains for the University of Tennessee to play LSU in Baton Rouge (Go LSU Tigers... 'cause Tennessee is EVIL! ...heh.)

Southern Mississippi still intends to play University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa tomorrow.  They had evacuated (and have remained) at the University of Memphis since the hurricane.  Last week there were people taking donations to the Red Cross at every entrance to the stadium.  I'm sure they will this week as well.

And my ankle is still sprained. The swelling has mostly gone away, but the ankle is still bruised (behind and below) and very tender. Still have it wrapped in ace bandage and sport tape as I hobble instead of walk. And, yeah, I've worn flipflops (even to work) since I fell.

.

The Jewel of the South - Can New Orleans recover its cultural richness?

There's No Place Like Home - The problems of emergency housing

Staying Put in Mobile - Mobile Register Article

and finally:

Architecture for Humanity

Alabama Council of The American Institute of Architects
Post Office Box 240757 €
Montgomery, Alabama 36124-0757
Telephone (334) 264-3037 €
Fax (334) 272-7128 €
Email AIA@gmsal.com

September 8, 2005

TO: Alabama Council AIA Members
FR: Wendy Perry, Account Executive, Alabama Council AIA
RE: Hurricane Katrina Help on Website


On the Alabama Council AIA's website (www.aiaalabama.org), there is a .pdf that can be downloaded of firms throughout Alabama as well as numerous other states who are willing to offer office space, jobs, etc., due to Hurricane Katrina. Due to the wonderful response from members, the list will be updated again this afternoon.