Scientists are predicting perhaps a half dozen major hurricanes again this season, following on last year's disasters, Katrina and Rita. The region is still reeling, with many people still unable to move back into permanent housing. There are concerns that the many thousands of so-called "FEMA trailers" used by residents in the area could become flying projectiles if another major storm strikes land.
The Red Cross is back in the area, discussing its planning initiatives this time around. The organization says it doesn't want residents to go to its shelters but to flee the area, so it won't be announcing the locations of its shelters until just beforehand. It also has not released guidelines as to what people can do to protect their pets, or how to bring them safely to shelters.
It sounds much like another disaster waiting to happen on what the local press calls "The Forgotten Coast." Neither the Red Cross nor FEMA did a good job last year, and there's little reason to expect improvement this year.
Thank God, therefore, for the volunteers and grassroots workers devoting themselves to helping the still-traumatized survivors of last summer's storms. They, at least, are giving people the information they need, including advice for how to work the bureaucracies that so frustrated everyone last year.
These are the true angels in the story, including one particularly special angel in my mind as I write this report.
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