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| National Guard and Air Force soldiers carry a woman on a stretcher into the cargo hold of a waiting Air Force C-17 cargo plane on Friday, as they evacuate people with medical needs from the Port Arthur, Texas area airport in advance of Hurricane Rita. Some one million people have left the area around Houston ahead of powerful Hurricane Rita, including about 15,000 who were helped out by authorities, city officials said Friday. (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) |
St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota National Guard has already responded to a call for assistance. Lt. Shannon Purvis says two aircraft left the state Thursday to deliver medical supplies to Beaumont, Texas. She says the 133rd Airlift Wing also evacuated medical patients from Texas to Oklahoma.
There are already about 50 Guard members in the Gulf Region, providing relief from Hurricane Katrina. Hundreds more were deployed this week for active duty to support U.S. military operations in Iraq. Still, Purvis says Minnesota can offer more disaster help if needed.
"Even though we have this large deployment, we're working on right now, we still have thousands of soldiers and airmen still behind here in Minnesota. They're volunteering, lining up to be able to help out as soon as they're asked to do so. So we're ready and willing to help as soon as those needs are identified," according to Purvis.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency asked Minnesota to take in 3,000 displaced people. Camp Ripley, the National Guard training facility near Little Falls, was prepared as a temporary shelter. But plans changed, and the evacuees never arrived.
Lt. Purvis says Camp Ripley is still available if another wave of evacuees is sent north.
"When we closed up shop at Camp Ripley, we did so with the understanding that if those resources were needed we'll be able to ramp it back up within 24 hours and be able to receive up to 3,000 hurricane survivors," she said.
Civilians from Minnesota are also joining in the relief effort. Soren Jensen of the Minneapolis Red Cross says nearly 100 local volunteers are already in Gulf Region or are on the way. Another 100 are standing by for their three-week assignments. But Jensen says the Red Cross nationally is running short of people.
"Our Red Cross volunteers are working extremely long hours under very, very difficult conditions. But they're dedicated. They know they're helping. We've helped thousands of families so far. In fact more than 300,000 families. We're going to be helping a million families just from the first hurricane. And so, how ever many families we need to help with Hurricane Rita, we'll be there, our volunteers will be ready," according to Jensen.
Nearly two million people along the Texas and Louisiana coasts were urged to get out of the way of Rita. As with the Katrina evacuation, many residents are leaving their dogs, cats and other pets behind. It's one more crisis Minnesotans are responding to.
Martha McPhee of the Animal Humane Society in Minneapolis is leading a team of 10 people to Texas on a rescue and shelter mission. McPhee says she's responding to a plea for help from the head of the of the Society for the Protection of Companion Animals in Houston.
"They actually accepted animals that were evacuated from Louisiana prior to the storm and then also after the storm hit there. So, she's planning to ride out the storm with those some 300 to 500 animals down there. And we're planning to move in hopefully directly in the wake of the storm to help her care for those animals, and then rescue others that were left behind," she said.
Another local contribution to the hurricane relief effort comes from Allina Medical Transportation. A spokesman for the Twin Cities company says a dozen employees are in Texas, along with three ambulances and other equipment. He says the EMTs and paramedics will work out of a FEMA command post near Houston for the next two weeks.
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