Mennonite
Central
Committee

Bracing for hurricane season in New Orleans

Marla Pierson Lester
June 1, 2006

As a new hurricane season begins June 1, MCC hurricane workers and members of partner congregations are facing the summer with both trepidation and faith.

Trying not to think about it

"Personally I don't even want to think about it, but it is a reality and we have to embrace ourselves with trust in the Lord, exercise our faith with all our hearts and minds and hope that it doesn't come our way," said Blanca Mackay, a hurricane response worker at Amor Viviente, an Anabaptist congregation in Metairie, Louisiana, "God holds our tomorrow and His will is good and perfect for His children."

Marta Enamorado, a church member whose apartment was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, said she too tries not to think about the coming season. When storms come, she prays that God's will be done.

Hurricane season

Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to Nov. 30. The U.S. government agency that tracks storms, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA, has predicted 13 to 16 storms strong enough to be named, with eight to 10 hurricanes. Of those, four to six could become "major" hurricanes or carry a Category 3 strength.

Lawrence Velasquez, a hurricane response worker at Comunidad Cristiana Internacional in the New Orleans suburb of Harahan, said he knows residents so leery of the coming hurricane season that they've decided to wait to repair their homes until after it ends. Even families that have gotten money from insurance companies fear investing it in fixing their homes now, he said.

Lessons learned

Others are taking to heart the lessons learned during last year's evacuation.

Henry and Kenia Aragón, members of Amor Viviente and newlyweds when Hurricane Katrina hit, vividly remember how traffic slowed their evacuation. Kenia is pregnant, and the Aragóns purchased a more reliable car with air-conditioning, ready for a slow ride out on highways clogged with evacuees. They are more aware of what to take and will make reservations for lodging early.

Mackay said she will make sure all her family's important documents are in one place, so she can take them if she needs to leave.

MCC's continued response

As families brace themselves for future storms, MCC continues its response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Local hurricane response workers remain in place in the New Orleans suburbs of Metairie and Harahan, striving to reach out to those still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. In Meridian, Miss., and Houston, Texas, local hurricane response workers aid the many evacuees who still have not returned to New Orleans.

MCC will continue its response to the 2005 hurricanes over the next three to five years, supporting long-term projects to assist and empower evacuees, working in collaboration with local Anabaptist churches in storm-affected areas and addressing underlying injustices, including poverty, inequality and racism, that the storm brought to the surface.

In Houston, MCC's local hurricane response team recently received a $139,621 U.S. grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief to do case management with Spanish-speaking evacuees on behalf of El Comité de Recuperación para los Afectados del Huracán, a local long-term recovery committee.

Bringing together responding agencies

MCC U.S. coordinates monthly telephone conferences of staff from Anabaptist agencies working in the South and their church partners. MCC is also planning to participate in a July 5-6 summit that would bring together leaders from the Gulf Coast Conference of Mennonite Church USA, MCC, Mennonite Disaster Service, Mennonite Economic Development Associates and other Anabaptist agencies responding to the storms.

Signs of hope and God's faithfulness

Whatever the season brings, church members and workers say they see signs of hope and God's faithfulness. Enamorado and her children lived for months in an Amor Viviente church building after her apartment was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, praising God's faithfulness even before she found permanent housing. This spring, she was able to arrange financing and purchase her first home, a dream she believed was out of reach for a single mother.

"I keep praying and keep being strong in the Lord and he's opening doors not just for me but for others too," Enamorado said.