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What I am going to say comes from working four days in our state emergency operations center, dealing with first the Greensburg, KS tornado which virtually wiped that small town off the map. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday we dealt with flash floods and river floods that inundated hundreds of homes.
I work as a volunteer for a charity, so I'm there as a coordinator, relaying information and requests to our units in the field and our state headquarters. Topeka Barb takes the morning shift and I take the afternoon shift. But in the spirit of cooperation I will speak of "we" as anybody on the disaster relief effort.
Most of my psychic and mental energy this week has been trying to think of ways to tell people NOT to bring us semi loads of clothes.
The disaster scene at Greensburg is a dangerous place, we had a broken leg just yesterday. We wanted to bring in another canteen to feed victims and relief workers, but there is no place to park it, so we are servicing people from large (12 passenger) vans we already have on site. No one is having any problem buying all the supplies we need locally. That includes bottled water, blankets, and food.
The one logistical problem we have had is getting tetanus vaccine from 40 or so miles away when more is needed, because the road is choked with workers, heavy equipment, and "tourists." The one church building in town is choked to the rafters with "stuff," mostly clothing. There will be no services there anytime soon.
Workers already have had to divert from disposing of tornado rubble to discard an entire semi load of clothing which had been placed near the town and was in the way.
Five caravans yesterday returned with nearly all of their food because someone had come in unannounced and served people. Their food had not been inspected so there was no assurance that it had been maintained at proper temperatures. Dept. of Health and Environment sent a food inspector to check donated food that was arriving. One batch that I dealt with has a questionable future. It had been prepared for one charity that didn't need it, so it was planned to be delivered to another two days later, and again it wasn't needed. Let's hope it can be used before it has to be discarded.
The bottom line is this: agencies that deal with disaster relief know from experience what they need to do and how to do it. What they need most is money. That is what to give in the first several days of an emergency.
Food is a problem because of health codes. Very few church ladies know how to keep food safe while traveling a hundred miles, even if they make killer fried chicken.
Clothing and household goods are seldom needed within the first few weeks, and genuinely get in the way when they are offered prematurely.
NO CLOTHING DRIVES! ! ! No pots and pans! ! ! !
Victims who are glad just to get a tent to sleep in can't use them, and this environment is not for good hearted but untrained volunteers.
If you're a heavy equipment operator, never mind the above, as if you didn't already know that.
I felt really good about my efforts yesterday and today. I stopped one truck from leaving Mississippi, and diverted one from Greensburg to Wichita, where the goods can be used. And I assisted in preparing a press release from our Governor which will say about what I said above. Now for a night's rest and back at it. The center is expected to be open for the rest of the month, and Topeka Tom and Topeka Barb are our charity's entire volunteer liaison staff.
I work as a volunteer for a charity, so I'm there as a coordinator, relaying information and requests to our units in the field and our state headquarters. Topeka Barb takes the morning shift and I take the afternoon shift. But in the spirit of cooperation I will speak of "we" as anybody on the disaster relief effort.
Most of my psychic and mental energy this week has been trying to think of ways to tell people NOT to bring us semi loads of clothes.
The disaster scene at Greensburg is a dangerous place, we had a broken leg just yesterday. We wanted to bring in another canteen to feed victims and relief workers, but there is no place to park it, so we are servicing people from large (12 passenger) vans we already have on site. No one is having any problem buying all the supplies we need locally. That includes bottled water, blankets, and food.
The one logistical problem we have had is getting tetanus vaccine from 40 or so miles away when more is needed, because the road is choked with workers, heavy equipment, and "tourists." The one church building in town is choked to the rafters with "stuff," mostly clothing. There will be no services there anytime soon.
Workers already have had to divert from disposing of tornado rubble to discard an entire semi load of clothing which had been placed near the town and was in the way.
Five caravans yesterday returned with nearly all of their food because someone had come in unannounced and served people. Their food had not been inspected so there was no assurance that it had been maintained at proper temperatures. Dept. of Health and Environment sent a food inspector to check donated food that was arriving. One batch that I dealt with has a questionable future. It had been prepared for one charity that didn't need it, so it was planned to be delivered to another two days later, and again it wasn't needed. Let's hope it can be used before it has to be discarded.
The bottom line is this: agencies that deal with disaster relief know from experience what they need to do and how to do it. What they need most is money. That is what to give in the first several days of an emergency.
Food is a problem because of health codes. Very few church ladies know how to keep food safe while traveling a hundred miles, even if they make killer fried chicken.
Clothing and household goods are seldom needed within the first few weeks, and genuinely get in the way when they are offered prematurely.
NO CLOTHING DRIVES! ! ! No pots and pans! ! ! !
Victims who are glad just to get a tent to sleep in can't use them, and this environment is not for good hearted but untrained volunteers.
If you're a heavy equipment operator, never mind the above, as if you didn't already know that.
I felt really good about my efforts yesterday and today. I stopped one truck from leaving Mississippi, and diverted one from Greensburg to Wichita, where the goods can be used. And I assisted in preparing a press release from our Governor which will say about what I said above. Now for a night's rest and back at it. The center is expected to be open for the rest of the month, and Topeka Tom and Topeka Barb are our charity's entire volunteer liaison staff.
Rather than type in the entire list of church funds, I'll refer you to 
I sympathize with you on that front.
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