Heeding the Warnings Made a Difference

IT WAS Wednesday, August 24, 2005​—a typical hot, humid day in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. Alan and his family left home to spend a few days in Beaumont, Texas, over 200 miles [300 km] to the west. They took enough clothes for a five-day absence. Alan explains: “We were unaware of Hurricane Katrina, which at that time was taking shape to the east of Florida. However, by Friday night it was clear that New Orleans was going to be struck by a Category 4 or 5 hurricane.”

On Sunday, August 28, it was evident that the storm named Katrina was going to be a maximum-strength hurricane. The mayor of New Orleans gave orders for a mandatory evacuation of the city. As a result, thousands of vehicles slowly moved to the north and the west, and the highways became blocked. Thousands of people who did not have cars fled to shelters or to the large stadium named the Superdome. Some decided not to evacuate their homes but to sit it out.

‘The Next Time, I Will Be the First One out of There!’

Joe, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was one who stayed. He was convinced that he could ride out the storm at home. He reasoned that the damage from previous hurricanes had not been as bad as authorities had predicted. “I reckoned I could survive,” he says. “How quickly my opinion changed! The winds and the rain came with a fury. In next to no time, the roof was ripped off my house. Then the water started to rise at a terrifying rate​—ten feet [3 m] in three hours! It was coming in so fast that I had to go up to the second floor. I really got scared because the wind was howling and the walls seemed about to implode. The ceilings were falling down. Now I was trying to figure out how to escape.

“I thought I might have to jump into the raging waters. But there were violent waves outside. The wind was blowing up whitecaps on nearby streets. I knew that if I jumped, I would probably drown.”

Eventually, a boat rescued Joe and left him on a bridge. There were dead bodies floating in the water below and feces everywhere. He slept one night on the trunk of a car. Then he went by helicopter and bus to the New Orleans Civic Center. “People there treated me well,” he says. “I was almost incoherent at one point. My overwhelming thought was, ‘Where will I get my next bottle of water?’”

In retrospect, Joe realizes that his ordeal could have been avoided. “I have learned my lesson,” he says. “The next time they say ‘Evacuate,’ I will be the first one out of there!”

 She Ignored Warnings, Sought Refuge in a Tree

The cities of Biloxi and Gulfport, on the Mississippi coast, suffered catastrophic damage and loss of life. According to The New York Times of August 31, 2005, Vincent Creel, the public affairs manager for Biloxi, said: “Many people had ignored evacuation orders because they, or their homes, had survived Hurricane Camille [in 1969].” Camille was considered stronger than Katrina, but, as Creel noted, Katrina ‘drove an unstoppable wall of water that was comparable to a tsunami.’

One local citizen who chose to ignore the warnings was Inell, who had lived in Biloxi most of her life. She says: “We had survived many storms over the years. So I was not overly concerned about Katrina.” After Inell gathered her 88-year-old mother-in-law, her son, her daughter, and her son-in-law​—plus two dogs and three cats—​they decided not to evacuate their house, which was well built. Then the storm hit Biloxi about 10:00 a.m. on August 29. Inell recalls: “I noticed water seeping into one of the bedrooms toward the rear of the house. Then it began to come in everywhere. We decided to climb to the attic for safety. But the water did not stop. We had to get out of the attic for fear of being trapped. But where could we go?

“My son had to rip a hole in a screen so that we could swim through it and reach the surface of the water outside. Then we stayed afloat by holding on to the edge of the roof. Three of us went to the right side of the house, and my daughter went to the left. I noticed a large tree nearby. My son, my mother-in-law, and I swam to the tree and held on tight. Then I heard my daughter screaming, “Mama! Mama!” My son-in-law, who was the last to exit the attic, swam to her to save her. The two of them managed to get into a boat that had been parked in the driveway and was floating loose near the house. They urged me to get into the boat. I did not want to take my  chances in the swirling water. I felt secure in the tree, and I was not going to move.

“From my vantage point, I could see the water flowing down the street and all around the house. I began to meditate on my situation, and I felt stupid for not obeying the warnings to evacuate.

“Eventually, the water began to recede, and at last we were all in the boat together! A fire truck turned up and took us to the hospital. We were surely grateful to be alive!”

Witnesses’ Evacuation Plans

Katrina’s effects were felt along the Gulf Coast, where thousands of homes were destroyed from Louisiana east to Alabama. But hurricanes are nothing new to that region of the United States. Therefore, Jehovah’s Witnesses have had evacuation plans in readiness for some years. Each year, usually in June, before the storm season starts, the 21 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the greater New Orleans area review an emergency evacuation plan. Thus, most of the local Witnesses knew what steps to take in case of an emergency. How did the plan work with Hurricane Katrina?

As soon as city officials announced the need to evacuate, the elders in each congregation contacted the other members of their congregation to encourage them to leave the city. Many were able to make their own arrangements to leave with family or friends. Special transportation and assistance were provided for the elderly and the infirm. John, a member of a Witness disaster relief committee, said, “I really believe that by following this plan, we saved many lives.” Hence, most of Jehovah’s Witnesses were able to get out of the city before the storm struck. To give immediate practical relief to the affected regions, the U.S. branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses established emergency relief committees.

Tracking Down Witnesses in the Astrodome

Some 16,000 refugees, mainly from Louisiana, were receiving food, water, and shelter in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The Witness relief committee in Houston learned that some Witnesses were part of that huge crowd. But how would they locate them?

Early Friday morning, September 2, a group of Witness elders arrived at the Astrodome to search out their displaced brothers. They were astonished by the sight of the thousands of men, women, teenagers, children, and infants, scattered throughout the vast stadium. The football field was covered with thousands of cots, as well as refugees patiently waiting for solutions to their problems. There were long lines for medical attention, and medical personnel were running to take patients to ambulances.

“I felt as if I were in the midst of a refugee camp,” exclaimed Samuel, one of the elders looking for fellow Witnesses. How were they going to find a few Witnesses in this vast crowd? The elders started out by walking up and down the aisles with large poster boards inviting Witnesses to identify themselves. After searching without success for three hours, they realized that they needed a more practical system. They asked the Red Cross to make an announcement  over the public address system: “All who are baptized Jehovah’s Witnesses, please go to the east ramp on the ground floor level.”

Finally, Witnesses began to trickle in with big smiles on their faces. Samuel explains: “They were tearful and filled with joy. They hugged us tightly and held our hands. They were afraid to let go for fear of being lost in the crowd.” On Friday and Saturday, 24 Witnesses were found and were taken to the Witness relief center.

Most of them had almost no material possessions except for the soiled clothes on their backs. One Witness was carrying a small box, the size of a shoe box. It contained some valuable papers​—all that she had been able to save from the destructive storm.

At the Astrodome, many people recognized the visiting elders as ministers of Jehovah’s Witnesses and approached them, asking for Bibles and Bible literature. Over 220 Bibles were requested. The Witnesses also offered the public the July 22, 2005, issue of Awake! featuring the very opportune cover series “Natural Disasters​—Are They Getting Worse?”

Some Return to Their Homes

One survivor of the storm is a seasoned reporter and the general manager of a New Orleans TV station. As such, he has seen a lot of destruction in the past. He returned to his home in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, to retrieve some possessions. “I was shocked,” he says. “The destruction was utter and complete. On TV we had seen the floodwaters when the levees broke and the water poured in from the canals. But the powerful winds also did tremendous damage.  My apartment complex was completely devastated. There is mold, rot, and stench. I can’t believe how it smells. It’s awful, just awful. But at least we are still alive.”

Alan, mentioned at the outset, eventually got back to his home in Metairie, a western suburb of New Orleans. The storm had wreaked havoc. “It was traumatizing to see, shocking,” he says. “It was as if an atomic bomb had been dropped on the city. It is one thing to hear about this on the news or watch it on TV. It is a very different thing to walk or drive through your neighborhood and actually see the damage and destruction​—so extensive and widespread. It is hard to absorb it.

“For example, the smell​—it smelled like rotten flesh, the smell of death. Many businesses were completely destroyed or flooded. There were police and soldiers at every corner. It looked like a war zone.”

 Some Relief Efforts

The city, state, and federal authorities set up relief arrangements. The principal federal agent for help was FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Other organizations mobilized to render help to the thousands of victims. Huge amounts of food, clothing, and water were trucked into the storm-drenched areas. FEMA was soon making out checks and dispensing other financial aid to help people survive the first few days or weeks. In the meantime, how were Jehovah’s Witnesses faring?

Assessing the Damage and Making Repairs

As soon as the storm struck, the Witnesses organized assessment teams to go into the ravaged areas and determine how many Witness homes and Kingdom Halls had been damaged or destroyed. How could they tackle such a massive task? The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, in Brooklyn, New York, gave approval for relief committees to be set up under the direction of the United States Branch Committee. In turn, Regional Building Committees from many parts of the States were invited in to start rebuilding. * What have they been able to accomplish?

As of February 17, 2006, the Long Beach, Mississippi, relief group reported that in their area, of the 632 homes of Witnesses that were damaged, 531 had been completely renovated, leaving 101 still needing work. The Witnesses also rendered help to non-Witness neighbors. Seventeen Kingdom Halls had suffered severe roof damage, and by the middle of February, new roofs had been installed on 16 of them. What about the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, committee?

This group cares for the Louisiana area, which took the brunt of Hurricane Katrina. Of the 2,700 homes of Witnesses needing repair there, work on 1,119 had been completed by the middle of February, so a huge task was still facing that relief committee. Again, neighbors and families with dire need were also helped. Fifty Kingdom Halls sustained extensive damage. By February, 25 of these had been repaired. In Texas the Houston group needed to repair 871 homes damaged by Hurricane Rita in September. By February 20, 830 had been completed.

Lessons From Katrina

Thousands who were caught in Katrina’s path have learned the sobering lesson that it is vital to pay attention to warnings. Indeed, many would echo the sentiments of Joe, quoted earlier, who stated: “The next time they say ‘Evacuate,’ I will be the first one out of there!”

Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to provide relief to victims in the Gulf region. (Galatians 6:10) Yet, their ministry is not just one of rendering humanitarian aid. On the contrary, the primary work of Jehovah’s Witnesses​—which is carried out in 235 lands around the world—​is to sound a warning that is far more significant than that of an impending storm. The Bible foretells that God will soon bring an end to this ungodly system of things, cleansing our earth and restoring it to the condition he purposed for it. If you would like to know what the Bible teaches about this time of judgment, contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area or write to the appropriate address on page 5 of this journal.​—Mark 13:10; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation 14:6, 7; 16:14-16.

[Footnote]

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Satellite view of the eye of Hurricane Katrina

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NOAA

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Flooded New Orleans

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AP Photo/​David J. Phillip

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Hurricane Katrina destroyed buildings and took many lives

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AP Photo/​Ben Sklar

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The Astrodome in Houston, Texas, sheltered some 16,000 evacuees

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Christian elders sought out the Witnesses among the evacuees

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Witnesses were very grateful to have their houses repaired

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Volunteers repair a badly damaged roof

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Volunteers provided food

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Alan