Hurricanes pound man, beast along southeastern seaboard

From staff Reports

Sept. 23, 2004 - Texans are coming to the aid of their neighbors to the east by providing financial assistance, shelter, and rescue/repair labor following the devastating hurricanes in Florida and Alabama.

The Southeast has been under barrage of storms, including hurricane winds, flooding, and tornadoes. Following the first two hurricanes - Charley and Frances - Texas groups went to work.

Relief efforts were getting in gear on Sept. 17 following Hurricane Ivan, which flattened homes, swamped streets and spun off at least a dozen tornadoes in the Florida Panhandle and other states in the Southeast. In all, Ivan has killed 70 people in the Caribbean and at least 23 along the Gulf Coast, most of them in Florida.

On Sept. 15, the Texas Task Force 1, under the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was deployed by Gov. Rick Perry. The 31-member task force is one of 28 urban search and rescue teams in the nation.

Earlier in the month, the Karnes County Farm Bureau gave $500 to two Florida counties hard hit by Hurricane Charley - Hardee and Desoto. Karnes County Farm Bureau, in Southwest Texas, also issued a challenge to other county Farm Bureaus to offer assistance.

During the week of Sept. 6, the Texas Cattle Feeders Association sent aid to the Florida Cattlemen's Association to aid producers and livestock markets. The storms damaged 65 percent of Florida's cattle-production areas, and six of the largest livestock markets in the state.

The cash aid contributed by TCFA, and coordinated by National Beef Cattlemen's Board, will be used to help rebuild cattle operations in Florida. "We are certainly grateful for the aid we've received already and thankful that the NCBA has been there to help us, not just with the needed supplies, but in Washington, D.C.," said Jim Handley, executive vice president of the Florida Cattlemen's Association.

From the nation's capital, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has promised aid to assist Florida growers in clean-up efforts, and will help growers get compensation for lost crops and trees. The National Resource Conservation Service's Emergency Watershed Protection Program is attempting to recondition areas damaged by flooding from the storms. Farm Service Agency workers are helping victims benefit from emergency loan assistance programs, a variety of insurance and non-insured crop programs.

Agriculture is the second largest business in Florida, second to tourism. Florida's 2003 cash receipts for crops (including ornamental horticulture, timber, livestock, citrus, etc.), equaled $6.45 billion. Recent storms have caused over $2 billion dollars of damage after Hurricanes Charley and Frances, according to a story in the Palm Beach Post. Citrus production is expected to be down 73 million boxes this year.

Dairy production in Florida has also suffered from the storms. As reported in last week's Dairyline column, many animals were killed and several others are expected to be culled in response to injuries and trauma. Other dairies had no where to take milk due to disabled transportation rings and plant closings. Some milk had to be dumped.

As Hurricane Ivan roared into Alabama on Sept. 16, that state's peanut and cotton growers were expecting "catastrophic losses." Farmers had already started harvesting Alabama's $120 million peanut crop and its $300 million cotton crop, but the majority of the crops remain in the field, vulnerable to such wind and rain.

''This particular storm could not have come at a worse time for peanuts,'' said Dallas L. Hartzog, a peanut specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Hartzog estimated that only 10 percent of the crop has been harvested.

Alabama growers have about 200,000 acres of peanuts and about 600,000 acres of cotton this year. Until Hurricane Frances caused some minor damage earlier this month, growers were expecting good to average crops.

Cotton crops, which stood ready to harvest, were severely damaged by water and wind that blew fibers to the ground and tangled plants.

Texas animal groups are offering help in the storm-ravaged regions. The Houston SPCA and the Humane Society of the United States made a joint effort to bring animals from destroyed areas in Florida, to Texas, to find new homes. Several hundred dogs and cats were transported from humane societies in Sarasota, Fla., and Englewood, Fla., to Houston SPCA and others were relocated to Dallas area shelters.

To help citizens fleeing from Hurricane Ivan, The Salvation Army set up relief areas in Beaumont and Paris. In addition, the organization has set up canteens at Texas Welcome Centers to provide beverages to those looking for shelter.

Reports on Sept. 17 note groups from Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, Sherman, Wichita Falls, Tyler and Lufkin will travel to disaster areas to help with storm recovery.

Donation information is available through the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org) and Florida Farm Bureau (www.floridafarmbureau.org). Also, the Redlands Christian Mirgrant Association, which serves the needs of poor rural families and migrant farmworkers, is accepting donations (http://rcma.org).