Both Florida Cracker and Boudicca have updates on what is going on with the recovery efforts after Charley's visit a little over a weekago.
Here is a link that will take you to the contact information for FEMA.
Strengthen the Good has their first charity opportunity posted. It is the Gulf Coast Community Foundation in Venice Florida. They are matching all donations to it's Hurricane Charley Disaster Relief Fund up to $100,000. This is a great opportunity to get money to the victims and help in the massive relief efforts needed.
I spent some time Saturday driving in the Orlando area and saw a lot of the damage first hand. Again, this was just in Orlando so I can only imagine what Arcadia and surrounding areas south of here look like.
There are still people without power - in the city. Crews are still working round the clock to restore power, but as the daily storms continue to pass through the area, trees continue to fall and powerlines continue to be destroyed. You see the ground is saturated, the trees roots systems are weakend and it doesn't take much for them to come down. The problem is still critical, and there is no way of knowing if or when one of these beautiful 100+ year old oak trees will fall.
I was not able to get any pictures Saturday because of the storm we were having. My friend and I, while enjoying each others company, still had a rather interesting time of it. In the course of 30 mins. we had water in the streets and parking lots that came up to the top of the wheels of her car. There was no "getting out of the rain". The winds came out of no where, and it was eerie seeing and hearing the emergency vehicles screaming by. You see - It's Not Over Yet. Even if the media has moved on, this is still our day to day existence. It'll be a long long time before things get back to normal. If ever.
And all this rain. I keep thinking about those that are waiting on the insurance companies before they can repair their homes. The water and wind damage keeps accumulating. If they were lucky enough to not lose everything during the heart of the storm, the likelyhood of increased damage is strong. That's why I am supporting the Mennonite Disaster Services. This is a group of people that are actually IN central Florida helping to rebuild and comfort the victims. They are HANDS ON. Clearing debris and rebuilding. The volunteers are local and they need funds to support this effort. Here is the link. The website is set up for donations, even for our Canadian friends. This group is here for the long haul. They are an incredible group of people and I wanted to give you the opportunity to see for yourselves what they are doing. I am also adding this link to my side bar until the effort is completed.
Schools are starting back up this week. Some are meeting in churches and other public buildings until the original buildings can be repaired or rebuilt. It's important that routine is re-established quickly. Especially for the children.
I will still be heading to SW Florida on Wednesday, my trip today was cancelled. If at all possible I will get pictures, but as I'm traveling with Corporate clients I don't know what kind of opportunity I will have.
Overall, things get better every day. But as we keep saying over and over and over - it's going to be a very long haul.
Posted by Tammi at August 23, 2004 09:40 AM