#laflood

[elective-affinities]

https://homesteadmuseum.wordpress.com/2017/01/23/historic-greater-los-angeles-flood-photos-from-the-homesteads-collection/

I added the blue tint

[sanctuary99]

#larain #laflood #lastorm #lafloods #freakyfriday #losangeles (at Los Angeles, California)

[sanctuary99]

#flooded #la #woodlandhills #la #laflood (at Woodland Hills, California)

[ritanava]

#Repost @iansomerhalder ・・・ Hey everyone- I know you're all super busy. The schools damaged by the Louisiana floods will need our help for a long time. Join me and @iamNikkiReed in supporting those affected by the #LAFlood and you can win a video chat with us...if that sounds fun;) please and thank you!!!!!! https://www.crowdrise.com/ian-for-louisiana #livechat #lousiana #nikkireed #iansomerhalder #isf

[kaileighblue]

Most of the garbage is finally gone.

[unitedwaynela]

United Way of Northeast Louisiana Partners with Sonic Drive-In for Flood the Love Donations Drive for South Louisiana 

United Way of Northeast Louisiana has partnered with Sonic Drive-In for Flood the Love, a community donations drive to collect cleaning supplies, food/water, and toiletries for those affected by South Louisiana flooding. Items will be collected during normal operating hours, Tuesday, September 6 - Friday, September 16 at the following Monroe/West Monroe Sonic Drive In locations:

In Monroe:

1541 N. 18th St.

520 Lincoln Rd.

1506 Martin Luther King Jr Dr.

4207 Pecanland Mall Dr.

615 Sterlington Rd.

4360 Sterlington Rd.

In West Monroe:

3000 Cypress St.

5323 Cypress St.

409 Thomas Rd.

Items collected include:

Cleaning Supplies

5-Gallon Buckets w/Resealable Lid

Mops

Liquid Laundry Detergent

All-Purpose Household Cleaner

Scrub Brushes

Sponges

Scouring Pads

Heavy-Duty Trash Bags

Work Gloves

Hygiene Products

Cleaning Wipes

Shampoo

Toilet Paper

Deodorant

Food/Water

Non-Perishable Food Items (e.g. Canned Goods)

Bottled Water

Miscellaneous

Insect Repellent Spray

To learn more about Flood the Love, or to run your own Flood the Love internal/organizational donations drive, visit unitedwaynela.org/floodthelove or, contact Amy Scott, Director of Marketing & Communications, at 318-998-9205, or by email.  All materials to launch a company donations drive will be provided, including donations collection boxes.

For more information about United Way of Northeast Louisiana’s role in Flood Response and Disaster Recovery, visit unitedwaynela.org/relief, or contact Janet Durden, President of United Way of Northeast Louisiana, at 318-325-3869, or by email at [email protected].

United Way of Northeast Louisiana works with volunteers, donors, and other local organizations to create lasting community change in the areas of Education, Financial Stability, Health, and Basic and Emergency Needs—the building blocks for a good quality of life. For more information about United Way of Northeast Louisiana, dial 2-1-1 on any landline or mobile phone, a free call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or visit www.unitedwaynela.org.

[nationalservice]

Boots on the Ground in Louisiana

By: Samantha Warfield, CNCS Staff

Louisiana is no stranger to disasters. Each time the state has been faced with Mother Nature’s worst, they’ve shown humanity at its best. Neighbor helping neighbor, Louisianans are there for one another.

It’s that same resilient and generous spirit that has been on display this week. Hundreds of AmeriCorps members from around the country are on the ground in Louisiana, helping residents begin the long process of rebuilding after the flooding that struck Southern Louisiana in mid-August.

One AmeriCorps member we met this week, on his first disaster deployment, shared what surprised him most about his time here. “While I knew people would appreciate the help, I thought that was just something you say. I’ve been truly overwhelmed by the gratitude and care that the residents have shown towards us – whether that’s a good meal, a great conversation, or efforts to help keep us cool.”

The appreciation for our AmeriCorps members was perhaps most visible on Tuesday night when the Office of Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, Volunteer Louisiana, and the City of New Roads, La., where many of our AmeriCorps members are staying, hosted a warm Louisiana welcome for the more than 600 AmeriCorps members on the ground in Louisiana. The AmeriCorps members were treated to po’ boys and Louisiana bouillabaisse, along with live music. Governor John Bel Edwards, Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser and many local officials extended their gratitude for the work AmeriCorps is doing. The whole event was put together thanks to many generous donations from local organizations.

The generosity of spirit doesn’t stop with the Louisiana residents, either.

On Tuesday night, when we thanked the AmeriCorps members for all their hard work, one responded, “Don’t thank me. I got to help someone today. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to do that.”

That’s why AmeriCorps, standing shoulder to shoulder with Louisiana, will help the state come back stronger and more resilient than before.

[nationalservice]

Yakima Valley volunteers call Louisiana flood devastation overwhelming

By: Kate Prengaman Reblog | Yakima Herald

Record-setting floodwaters have receded but the disaster continues for tens of thousands of southern Louisiana residents whose homes were inundated earlier this month. And, the corresponding need for help is overwhelming, according to federal officials and young volunteers from Central Washington who arrived this week to help out.

“The first thing I always see is front lawn covered with garbage and debris. You can actually see the water lines around the houses and know how deep it got,” said 20-year-old Yakima resident Samuel Sanchez. “When you get inside, it’s either (cleaned out) or there is lots of mold everywhere.”

Sanchez, a Davis High School grad, has been going door-to-door asking homeowners if they need help.

“People are so glad to see us,” he said, adding that while most people he has met are living with relatives whose homes were not impacted, others are stuck with no place to go but their damp, damaged homes.

His conversations are the first step toward enabling an army of young people — estimated at more than 500 from various AmeriCorps programs around the country — to help residents get back on their feet.

Leaders from the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC), the natural resource and disaster response focused branch of AmeriCorps in the state, were the first to arrive last weekend to organize program efforts.

The WCC has a long history of responding to disasters including wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, and floods. This year alone, 61 WCC members responded to flooding in St. Louis this winter and two crews spent July in West Virgina running logistics to help local and visiting volunteers address devastating flooding that killed 24 people.

In Louisiana, the crews will be collecting work orders from residents, coordinating food, lodging, and supplies for other volunteer groups, and helping to clean out flood-damaged homes, said Laura Schlabach, WCC outreach coordinator.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has praised AmeriCorps volunteers for making disaster response more flexible and bringing a positive energy to communities in need. In Louisiana, their efforts will be supported by a $4.5 million assignment from FEMA, according to the AmeriCorps website.

It’s Sanchez’s second flood recovery assignment in his year with WCC, after spending February in St. Louis clearing rotten carpets and molding drywall from homes. On that trip he and fellow corps members learned the ropes of disaster response that have helped them hit the ground running in still reeling Louisiana communities.

It’s emotional work.

“Back in Missouri, I didn’t know what to say to people,” Sanchez said. “Now, I know. When they are emotional, it’s because they are under so much stress and they don’t have flood insurance or couldn’t afford it.”

He said his favorite part is getting to know the homeowners he’s helped.

“They have such great stories, it’s really touching, and I just like listening to people talk about their lives,” Sanchez said. “I think it’s great that they can share emotions with us and if we can remove that debris out of their homes. It’s less stress for them, it takes a crew a week instead of months if it were just them.”

It’s challenging work too – stripping out houses and hauling debris in hot, humid weather.

Sanchez said he and his Yakima-based colleagues, who spent the summer planting wetland plants for restoration projects and helping local residents clear brush to reduce fire risks, aren’t afraid of hard work but the humidity has been a shock.

But it doesn’t stop the crews from working hard and long —10 hours a day, six days a week — while compensation and accommodations are minimal.

“Honestly, I’m living in a gymnasium at a community center,” said Sanchez, not seeming to mind. And he added that his crew leader, Josh Perry, is a great cook whose job during this deployment is to turn donated food into meals worth looking forward to.

The WCC members volunteered to serve in Louisiana but while working for the program they earn minimum wage and receive a $5,775 scholarship for future educational expenses

The benefits go far beyond that. Sanchez said WCC has provided his first-ever trips outside the region and he’s just excited to be able to put his skills to use helping people who need him.

That’s part of the ethic of the program — be it helping to fight wildfires here in Washington or flood response across the country — to provide hands-on job training and experience to the next generation of natural resource professionals, Schlabach said.

And for young people in need of some personal or professional direction, it can change lives, said Ernie Farmer, leader of an Ellensburg crew who is now coordinating the flood response.

“It’s pretty phenomenal when you can get a group of 18- to 25-year-olds together to do this work, to put their phones down, sleep on the ground, and work this hard,” he said in an interview before the recent deployment.

The WCC is recruiting new members in Central Washington for the work year starting in October.

Sanchez, who applied after his crew leader came to talk to young people at Rod’s House in Yakima, said he strongly recommends the opportunity.

“I’d tell anybody, if you can’t find a good job and you’ve been turned down for stuff because you just have a high school diploma, you need to go to WCC,” he said. “I’ll never stop thinking about this job.”

See the article here