Serving/Surviving

The Waldo family consider themselves VERY fortunate, in that we had several LARGE limbs fall from as high as 80 feet, John estimates, with no damage to our house, or us!! That being said, and out of power as well, we consider our most trying time was being without John before, during and after the storm!

So in true "Waldo" fashion, trying to take advantage of every opportunity we can to be together as a family, we rolled up our sleeves, headed up to the Sheriff's Dept. to the E.O.C. (where John spent his days and nights) and started volunteering OUR time to help out in any way we could.

We brought a brisket up and made BBQ sandwiches and fed the volunteers there, and Amanda and I drove through the county and fed the deputies patrolling and "standing guard" from Huntsville to New Waverly and to Phelps. John-Ronald assisted the Sheriff in passing out water and ice and assisted the Huntsville Fire Department delivering needed goods/supplies to local shelters.

Amanda assisted with preparing spread sheets for the E.O.C. volunteers to keep tract of data, information and supplies. I volunteered to do laundry for the emergency personnel.

We are very proud of John for his dedication to his profession and service to the city which helps us all prepare for such storms as well as the Gospel that teaches us to be prepared-- and we were.

We also cherish the time we have with John, because each time he leaves to go to "work" we know it may be the last. That is how the Waldo Family tackled "Ike" --Together as a family, helping our community and providing service to others!!

FEMA

News without a generator was hard to come by. Word of mouth, neighbor to neighbor. Which brings me to the another thing I learned, only two days ago. Anyone without power for more than 5 days (it might be 5 days or more) is entitled to a FEMA reimbursement subsidy that may go as high as $2,000 or a smaller increment therein.

My neighbor told me to go online at FEMA.gov, and apply for assistance. It does prompt you through it, and yes, you must acknowledge if you do have homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, and you must also apply through your insurance company for any benefits you may be entitled to there. For details, or to apply, go to FEMA.gov.

I have a cousin that survived Hurricane Katrina, and lost her entire home. She had homeowner’s insurance that she did apply for, but there are many expenses that insurance does not cover, and the FEMA subsidy is an attempt to reimburse those added, unexpected charges, insurance many times does not cover.(Work-time lost, renting a place to stay, buying gas for the generator, buying a chainsaw to clear the trees, although the website points out it does not reimburse for food lost, it does reimburse for unexpected expenses—that may include lodging, meals, etc).

Although it was a neighbor that told me of this payment, I had a cousin that backed up the importance of filing a claim with FEMA. (I have an ethical problem with the government being financially responsible for a natural event, but they aren’t listening to me, and they are handing out my paid taxes to other entities that I have a bigger issue with receiving it, oh well, if we qualify get it!)These are the things I learned, and I hope some of it may help you! I think many of you may have better words of advice, or just a need to share your story, and I know, I look forward to coming here and learning more SOS techniques.

—Debi Greene.

SOS - Cooking it ALL!

When the hurricane media experts were predicting landfall in Houston, I started cooking because I have lived through Gilbert, and Alicia, in Houston, and I remember power outages. I knew that if it hit here, I would lose everything in my freezer, and thank heavens, it was far enough from payday, that I didn’t have a big stash in the freezer.(Most of my food storage is canned, or dry, a prompting I felt a need to follow about 7 years ago).

So, I cooked 5 days worth of meals that could be reheated in the crock pot! I know, the crock pot takes electricity, but I have this power converter for the laptop working in the car—using the cigarette lighter. I figured I could cook those meals in my car, using the same gadget I would recharge or power up the laptop. It worked! We had Alcatraz Stew, Chicken Gumbo, White Chili, Black Bean soup, and spaghetti.

We also had grilled pork chops, burgers, and all the other meat that I threw on the grill after I had no power to keep that freezer cold. But ice! I did run down to the Red Cross/Fema station at the sheriff’s office, and I picked up ice on the 4th day, and packed my freezer full to keep the milk, and other stuff cold enough to keep and use.

But the really fun thing about collecting the ice—was the FEMA/Sheriff deputies insisted that I take the pack for a family of four, including the MRE meals. The MRE’s provided the boys, and myself with at least three hours of jubilant entertainment, as we read the directions, and put the water in the hydrogen pack and chemically heated the meal. I think we even chanted, toil, toil, bubble, and boil, and giggled greatly over constructing the meal as directed! I am looking into adding these into our kits, and making a 144 hour survival kit—for a serious hurricane really laps into at least one full week of no power. (And boys that are entering or have entered the years of young adulthood, SNACK A LOT!) Enduring that line to collect the FEMA ice is incredible, and I felt guilty over the gas I used to collect the ice. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to need to get ice everyday.

I got to know neighbors, that I had never met before, yet they live within a stone’s throw all around me. Whenever a grill was going, we all knocked on each other’s doors, and offered to share our food, the hot coals, whatever was needed. Even the Elkin’s Lake Putter Parlor threw open their doors to the residents, and started grilling all the food in the open air, allowing all of us to eat it up, or they would have to throw it out! Teenage boys in the neighborhood spread the word, riding their bikes house to house.

Debi Greene

SOS (SISTERS ON SURVIVING) HURRICANES!

We all survived Hurricane Ike, and we’re sure glad we did. We give thanks to Heavenly Father for all he brought us through, and we are grateful for the good counsel many of us were able to follow—those 72 hour survival kits, water and food storage, and some of us having those generators really were things that brought us all comfortably through this tragic event. Everytime I cracked open one of those things, I almost wanted to sing, “Follow the Prophet, follow the prophet. . . .!”

Each of us learned things we had never had thought of, nor expected, and our unique experiences might help each other, and those sisters that come into the area having never prepared for a hurricane. So, we are Sisters On Site (SOS, again) and we are posting all of our stories to help and give aid to each other, and our sisters that follow.

Debi Greene

Saved By Our Generator

Following Hurricane Rita, 2005, we decided we needed a generator but felt confused about what would work for us. We bought a 5,500 watt generator from Sears. The cost of an electrician to hook it to the electricity in the house turned out to be more than the generator. But, it allowed us to create an emergency set-up that would maximize the wattage we had.

During Hurricane Ike, our 5,500 watt generator powered lights and power outlets in 3 rooms, 2 refrigerators, an electric cooktop, a microwave, 2 TV's, the aerobic water system, and a room air conditioner. We ran an extension cord from the kitchen to hook up the satellite TV receivers and a computer system. If the power had not been restored, we were going to run it to the washing machine. The generator ran 24/7 for six days.

The generator was powered by our propane gas tank. The tank was 40% full when the storm hit. After six days, the gas level was at 20%. With a full 500 gallon propane tank, it would have lasted for 3-4 weeks, running around the clock. Many people ran theirs only morning and evening and shut it off during the day. We could survive with a full tank of propane, running the generator morning and night for many weeks.

Grettle Payne

Hurricane Ike - an opportunity to practice what we preach.

On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike stormed ashore at Galveston, TX, with devastation in its 200 mile wide path, extending from the Gulf of Mexico through East Texas to as far north as Ohio. Many evacuees from Galveston and Houston sought shelter in Huntsville, Walker County, TX. However, within hours, 96% of Walker County residents were without power, This power outage lasted many days, leaving local residents in need of help themselves.

In this blog, the Huntsville Relief Society women share their stories about preparedness and survival through and following this storm.

The Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church) is perhaps the oldest and largest women’s organization in the world. Founded in 1842, its stated goal was to relieve suffering and save souls. The Relief Society in Huntsville is dedicated to those same purposes today.

As a designated evacuation site, there are repeated opportunities to assist others when storms buffet the Gulf Coast causing destruction severe enough for mandated evacuations. At the same time, preparedness for people in Huntsville is an ongoing need. It is hoped that information found here will help others prepare for the next storm or emergency.

Grettle Payne
President, Huntsville 1st Ward Relief Society