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Entry bubble Hurricane Ike Survivors: Find Family & Friends

By: Joanne | September 16, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Did you evacuate to get out of the path of Hurricane Ike? Do you need to find friends or family who were displaced by Ike? If you answered yes to either of these questions, read on.

There are websites you can register with to help you connect with your loved ones to let them know that you’re safe and well after the storm. I’m going to give you links to a few registries – if you were displaced by the storm or if you’re looking for someone, I suggest you visit them all.

  • FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, operates the National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System. 
  • The Red Cross operates the Safe and Well List. The Safe and Well List even lets you to post a message (from a list of standard messages) so you can give your loved ones a little more information. For those without internet access, call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) to register.
  • Next of Kin National Registry is a free tool for daily emergencies and national disasters. The system gives emergency response agencies the information they need to contact your loved ones if you’re ever missing, hurt badly or worse.
  • If you’re a tourist or other foreign national affected by a disaster in the U.S., contact your consulate.

And do remember that there are many ways that you can help the people impacted by Hurricane Ike by volunteering or donating. There are volunteer opportunities for kids, seniors, teens and groups and many reputable organizations you can support through donations to bring relief to hurricane survivors.

No matter what charity you chose to support, always be on the watch for identity theft and other scams and fraud schemes  that try to take advantage of your good will and desire to help those in need.

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: disaster   flood   hurricane   ike   joanne   locator   shelter   storm   survivor  

Comments (4):

blue comment bubble Posted by Katie@Houston Public Library on September 16, 2008 at 09:13 AM EDT

Thank you for this post.

If any Houston area people are able to read this, the Houston Public Library (Central Library -- 500 McKinney) is open for business this week 10-7. On Wednesday 9/17 we will open 2 additional locations. All locations offer AC, internet access and wireless connections. We will have computers set aside for the public to use to fill out FEMA forms and to email friends and family.

Please call 832-393-1313 for additional information.

Our website is: http://www.houstonlibrary.org/

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blue comment bubble Posted by Katie on September 16, 2008 at 09:42 AM EDT

I'm impressed with your dedication! With everything that you're going through, it's great that you've got the library open and you're ready to serve.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Disappointed on September 18, 2008 at 02:26 PM EDT

Cities are not compensaiting personel that stayed behind . They are going to pay overtime to people for the time they worked during the storm, but of course they are getting reimbursed for that from fema. the employees that left are still getting paid but they did not even have to work. The city is going to use fema to reimburse them for overtime pay, but they gave us nothing at all. I don't know if I would stay again. I had to support myself here and my family elsewhere. I had to stay here during and through IKE. I have to live without water or electricty so I could stay here and work. I would have got overtime pay anyway for working the hours that I did. What benifit is there when you don't get extra pay during dangerous time, but you are required to stay? How do you recover the money that it cost for you to stay and surive after the storm and before fema can help you?

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blue comment bubble Posted by Joanne on September 18, 2008 at 05:22 PM EDT

It sounds like you've been through a lot this week, and from what I see in the news, it's going to be a while before life returns to normal. The public owes a great debt to city employees, like you, who made a huge sacrifice to stay behind and work.
The Department of Labor may be able to help sort out your pay issue, if you think that you were not compensated for the hours you worked according to the law. You can email them at http://www.dol.gov/dol/contact/contact-email.htm, or call them at 1-866-487-2365.
If you're in need of assistance before FEMA funds arrive, I recommend contacting local organizations working in your area, such as the Red Cross. They'll know what types of support are available in your area.

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