[FLham] Disaster Help Needed, Central FL

[bcarling at cfl.rr.com]

Harrison County, Mississsippi... It connects right up to Louisiana, 
not far from New Orleans... or I should say from where New Orleans 
USED TO BE! I have been up there several times. In fact I have 
worked in most of the cities along the Mississippi and Louisiana 
Gulf Coast over the past few years. On one of  those trips
I got to visit Marie's brother and his family in Pass Christian, MS.
In Harrison County...

Marie just returned from the really good Women's Retreat she 
attended with our daughter Michal this weekend.
As she was coming home, the Sheriff's Office called and the
senior oficers want her to quickly organize a relief shipment
to be sent to one of the counties in Mississippi that was hardest 
hit by Hurricane Katrina last week, leaving that county's 
Sheriff's office in a very bad condition. The officers have 
lost their own homes in many cases, and are without 
basic belongings such as shoes, food, clothes etc.
The county? HARRISON COUNTY, MS!

As it turns out the county that they are sending the supplies 
to HAPPENS to be the EXACT same county where MARIE'S BROTHER 
BOBBY and his wife Linda live(d.) !!

We are amazed!

We finally got hold of Bobby and Linda on the phone today.
They were IN THEIR HOUSE in Pass Christian, MS right when 
the storm hit and they had NOT evacuated!

Now some "experts" out here are saying that people who did 
not evacuate were "STUPID" etc., but I can tell you 
from our experiences of living in a hurricane-prone area,
that it gets old after a while and you can't evacuate every 
single time there is a threat. After years of living in harm's 
way, a complacency sets in. You don't imagine that it can 
ever happen. With a hurricane 200 miles across and roads 
jammed, where would you go anyway? Most people wish 
that they had evacuated after if it is too late. I can understand.
No, they are not stupid. I am not sure why they were in there. 
I didn't ask!

Anyway, Bobby and Linda were up in their attic and they 
watched the whole thing...
Bob and Linda lived only a few blocks from the Gulf.
If you have watched the HELICOPTER VIDEOS that 
I sent to you a couple of days ago, then you already know that 
MOST of  Pass Christian, Mississippi was totally flattened, 
and amost all of the houses are just like matchsticks now.

I have been there to visit Bob & Linda and their house was built 
on stilts, fortunately - about 8 feet above the ground. Good idea.
However, even that did not prepare them for what happened.
I am getting this second hand from Marie, but she did tell me that 
they watched the water VERY quickly come up aABOVE their first floor 
level (about 16 feet deep.) and THEN they watched it COVER their 
SECOND storey and come up toward the attic! That was 24 feet 
above ground. The MIRACULOUS THING is that the house was not 
knocked down by the wind or the flood waters like so many others... 
Of course, everything in it was ruined, and their cars floated away, 
and have not been seen or are totally ruined ( I forget which!!)

So now they have no home, no cars, and nothing to do, 
but THANK GOD they had insurance that will cover some of 
their losses. This is just astonishing.
No wonder Marie cried when we heard that Bay St. Louis and 
Pass Christian, MS had both been hit dead center by the 
hurricane and wiped out.

We had heard that they made it to safety, but we didn't know how.
We had ASSUMED that they had evacuated!

What happened was that they were about a to chop a hole 
in the roof and get on the roof like others did.
He had his tools ready to axe their way out but THEN 
he heard a neighbor. The neighbor had a phone and 
they were somehow able to call for help from Alabama 
and someone drove down there from Alabama and got 
them all. This seems so unlikely to me.

After enduring smaller inland hurricanes here I can tell you that 
the electricity goes out right away, and the cell phones go out too.
Very quickly. It takes almost no time before you are in the dark, 
HOT and unable to communicate unless you have a generator 
and a ham radio. You have less than a  50% chance of being able 
to use the landline phone IF you have a WIRED phone. You won't 
be able to use the cordless ones if you don't have a generator.

As the wild story unfolds, I am just amazed. We are thanking 
GOD that they are alive, and that their son and his family 
who lived in Gulfport also made it to safety somehow.

More exciting news later. We need to go organize and help 
get the support  of our community to donate a lot of materials 
and money to send up to Harrison County on Tuesday and 
there is not much time to get it all done.
We already have the truck available. I didn't send this as 
an appeal, but if you would like to send any money or materials 
please contact Marie. 407-474-5244 and she will tell you how 
you can help. I have lost most of my e-mail contacts in a 
computer crash last month, so please forward this to anyone 
interested.

Brian, AF4K

Marie says:

This request list has come from Harrison County Law Enforcement/Public
Safety 
personnel in Mississippi. 
Even thought these officers have lost their homes in the 
disaster, they continue to work tirelessly to provide the 
best possible service to the  community. Seminole 
County, FL Sheriff's Office deployed there advised that 
these  officers' homes are destroyed and their lives uprooted. 
We would like to help meet the needs of this public safety
community.

Arrangement for mid-week transportation to Harrison County 
are being made. Items will be collected at the Seminole 
County, FL Sheriff's Office/Public Safety Bldg. on Monday 
(Labor Day) and Tuesday. You may call Captain Kip 
Beacham 407-402-2364 or Marie Carling at 407-474-5244 
with any questions.

We ask every one's assistance in helping these families at this time.

Fuel in cans
Generators
Clothes for police and families (underware, socks, shoes)
Non perishable food
Tarp and Roofing Paper for roofs
Volunteers to repair roofs
Ice Chest
Bug Spray-Mosquito and Tick repellent
Sunscreen
Window air conditioner units
Baby Supplies (diapers, formula, water, baby wipes)
For police officers-wook boots and socks
Gatorade
Eating Utensil and paper plates
Manual can openers
Batteries-all sizes
Lanterns-battery operated and kerosene Operated
Pet food
Horse Feed - all kinds

All the best - Brian Carling