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IAFF Reaching Out to Affiliates Hit by Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike has weakened to a
tropical depression after making landfall on the Texas Gulf
Coast as a Category 2 hurricane, paralyzing Houston and
flooding Galveston and other coastal areas.
While it appears that Ike was not
the single calamitous stroke that forecasters had feared,
the full extent of the damage — or even a rough sense of
casualties — is still unclear, in part because many roads
are impassable.
Since Ike made landfall, there have been 940 rescues in Texas of people stranded
in homes, vehicles and elsewhere, said a spokesperson for Governor Rick Perry.
Pictured, members of Houston Local 341 in a rescue boat look for people in need
of rescue at the Interstate Motor Lodge off of I-10.
In Galveston — where the storm caused the greatest devastation -- 11th District
Vice President Sandy McGhee reports that of the seven fire stations there, four
are “liveable,” while the condition of the other three is unknown. He is also
concerned about Orange, Texas, on the Louisiana border, which was also hit hard.
He is in touch by phone with other affiliates in the region and continues to
attempt to reach Orange, TX Local 1432.
DVP McGhee is also working to locate a staging area off Galveston Island. He
will be providing updates as available regarding an IAFF operations center and
IAFF affiliates and members affected by Hurricane Ike.
McGhee is hopeful that state EMAC and FEMA resources will soon be officially
deployed, and until a staging site is determined, it is too early to call in
further resources. FEMA is advising first responders to
not self-deploy to the disaster area.
Roughly the size of Texas itself, Ike may be the worst storm to hit the
state in nearly 50 years. Its the biggest to hit an urban U.S. area since
Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.
Meanwhile, the most immediate need will be for financial assistance to IAFF
members affected by Hurricane Ike.
The
IAFF Disaster Relief Fund provides assistance to IAFF members in the United
States and Canada who suffer financial hardship as the result of a federally
declared disaster area or in cases of natural or man-made disasters, such as
floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires or civil disturbances.
Click here to donate online.
After Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005, the Fund disbursed more than
$1,750,000 to IAFF members in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Florida
who were displaced by the storms. Additionally, the IAFF assisted more than 45
local affiliates and their 5,000 members in the stricken area, and provided
incident command staff, communications, evacuation, food, medicine (including
vaccinations and baseline medical evaluations), behavioral health and
counseling, building materials, crews for house repairs, transportation and
housing support. The Fund provided more than $500,000 for these efforts. In this
fiscal year alone, the IAFF has provided more than $45,000 in member relief.
The IAFF Disaster Relief Fund is a 501 (c)(3) Trust Fund. Tax deductible
contributions can be sent to:
IAFF Disaster Relief Fund
1750 New York Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 824-1571
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