The Adventures of Chester: San Antonio Katrina Relief Report

I've been processing evacuees at the former Kelly AFB for the Red Cross. Mrs. Chester, a medical student, was treating those with injuries as part of the medical response. Some observations:

-I observed county police, city police, Red Cross, City of San Antonio, US Air Force and a handful of medical organizations all there. Things seemed to be moving along, but I'm not sure if anyone was in charge of the effort as a whole. A couple of coordination meetings seem like a good idea.

-It was filling up fast and they need more Red Cross volunteers. I went to drop off Mrs. C and we both ended up staying for four hours. If you've got a facility in your town and can space the time, get down there. Most of what I did was on the spot problem-solving, but every little bit helps. There were huge bottlenecks in processing evacuees. They need more people.

-These facilities are going to need a good scrubbing immediately or disease is going to spread. Trash was already being strewn throughout the building and they are not designed to hold that many people in such tight quarters for long periods. They will need some janitorial services of some kind.

-Many evacuees are traveling in little groups of friends from their neighborhood and do not wish to be separated from their neighbors.

-Mrs C. reports that medications are an issue. The pharmacy had to close for the night around 11 pm and won't be back til the morning. They're going to need a lot more medications. Mrs. C says that if you have any medical background at all, they need your help: EMT, RN, PA, MD, whatever. If there's an evac center in your city, get down there.

-Food is going to be a huge issue. They ran our while I was there.

-Clothing will be huge too. Most people had nothing more than what they were wearing. Many had no shoes. A few had fashioned clothing out of trash bags.

-If you are a volunteer, when speaking to evacuees, be prepared to answer the following questions: when can we eat? where's the bathroom? can I get a shower? are there phones? how do I apply for disaster relief? how do I find someone here? if someone can pick me up, can I leave?

-If you are a volunteer, and don't know the answer to questions that evacuees are asking, don't say I don't know. Say, follow me and we'll find out. Have them sit down while you investigate. Just simple little problem solving is greatly appreciated: "There's a man here with a heart condition." "How do I get assigned a bed?"

If anyone else out there is volunteering, I hope that helps.

If it was me, I would not want to stay in some kind of camp for very long -- maybe long enough to get medically screened. I think that anyone who can offer to house some evacuees until they get on their feet will be doing a great service. These mass evac facilities are going to be some very crowded, dirty, and probably depressing places to stay no matter how well they are planned and coordinated -- and from the perspective of this Marine, do you really want them to be that comfortable? We don't want people to homestead at government camps for the long term, we want them to get back on their feet as quickly as possible. That's probably a thought for the longer term, but it's worth remembering over the next couple of weeks.

Hope that helps.

UPDATE: One more thing, I forgot: I saw no media of any kind there, which was surprising to me. I figured I'd see some TV cameras at least.

Posted by Chester on September 3, 2005 1:57 AM to The Adventures of Chester