Only two known deaths have been caused by Rita so far, a man whose mobile home was upended by a tornado in the Mississippi Delta and a man who was hit by a falling tree in Angelina County, Texas.
“The evacuations worked,” David Paulison, acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told AP.
President Bush visited with officials on Sunday at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas to discuss the Federal government’s response to Katrina and Rita, proposing that the Department of Defence should become the lead agency if a natural disaster of a “certain size” were to come about.
Federal and volunteer relief responders have been on site since Rita made landfall on Saturday, providing essentials such as food, water, ice, and medical aid to those in need.
The American Red Cross, which is currently setting up shelters for those displaced by Rita, has projected at least a US$2 billion tab to cover the response to Hurricane Katrina, and untold additional expenses for Hurricane Rita. So far the organisation has raised nearly US$854 million, and already spent or committed US$700 million for Katrina relief.
“We have a long way to go in our fundraising to meet the needs of people from Katrina, let alone what we need to do for the people of Rita," Joe Becker, senior vice president of preparedness and response with the Red Cross, told reporters in Washington. "As fast as the money is coming in, we are spending it."
The Salvation Army – the second largest disaster relief organisation in North America, behind the American Red Cross – have opened up two shelters in the north Houston area where more than 450 mostly low-income residents who were unable to evacuate the city found refuge before the storm made landfall. The organisation is also providing thousands of hot meals to evacuees in shelters in Amarillo, Lubbock, Dallas, Lufkin and Austin.
“Before the storms come, during the storms and well after the storms have gone, The Salvation Army is prepared and ready to respond with meals, water, shelter and personnel trained to help people and communities,” said Major George Hood, the Salvation Army’s national community relations and development secretary, in a statement released on Saturday.
Also aiding in the relief effort for Rita is The United Methodist Church, who released a panoply of resources on Friday to help its members “Be the Hope” for those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The church offers “a community of support, safety and security when catastrophes disrupt the lives of individuals in affected areas,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive officer of UMCom. Those who volunteer to assist survivors “personify that hope and concern of the larger community.”
“If you contribute to the United Methodist Committee on Relief for long-term relief, if you put together flood buckets or hygiene kits, if you join in prayer for those who are affected, if you volunteer to help in cleanup or operate a shelter, or encourage friends or the place where you work to make a financial contribution, you are being a concrete manifestation of hope,” he said, according to the United Methodist News Service.
Resources include worship materials, counselling tips, prayers, web tools, and bulletin inserts.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Christian Reformed Church, the Presbyterian Church USA and the World Evangelical Alliance also released helpful reflections on the hurricanes that churches can use for counseling and response.
One resource, provided by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is a radio clip titled, “God, We Need to Talk.” The program features the Rev. Peter Marty, who talks about making sense of how God’s will goes to work in times of devastation. The entire 25 minute program is available to stream on the ELCA’s website: (http://www.elca.org/disaster/resources/05-09-01-katrinaprayer.asp)
Justin Camacho
Christian Today Correspondent
