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Survivors Take Refuge Shipboard
Written by
Vicky Brown
, Special to Redcross.org
Wednesday, October 05, 2005 — MOSS POINT, Miss. – The Hill Family, with parents Tracy and John, and their seven children decided to ride out Hurricane Katrina in their Moss Point, Miss., home. While Katrina did the damage, it was the aftermath that drove the family from their home and into temporary housing nearly two weeks later.
The Hills battened down for the storm with son Jerermy 17, daughter Jamerieka 16, son Jeremiah 14, son Isaiah 13, daughter Jennesys 10, daughter Alexandryah 9, and son Jyahshua 6. As the storm battered their subdivision, they saw the roof peel off their neighbor’s house. Part of their own roof soon flew with the winds and water started pouring through the cavity. Rain and rubble filled the home. The family huddled for hours in the hall as the fury raged outside.
After the gale passed, the Hills found themselves without power or water for 10 days. During this time, American Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV) delivered MREs and hot meals, and neighbors came together to help each other, pooling limited resources and cooking food on salvaged barbecue grills. Water and ice was delivered by helicopters from the National Guard.
“We were so grateful for the supplies,” Tracy says. “We couldn’t have made it without them.”
With wet sheet rock and carpet throughout the dwelling and no air conditioning, mold soon grew up the walls and hung like stalactites across the ceiling. It crept, like a slick fur coat over furniture and appliances. With a growing stench and the spreading black contamination, the house became unlivable.
Tracy headed to the Red Cross and FEMA for assistance. The Red Cross Service Center was able to issue the family a much needed check to buy clothes, medicine, gas and food. FEMA was able to direct them to temporary housing aboard the Holiday, Carnival Cruise Ship in Mobile Bay and within four days, all seven kids and the parents were living aboard the ship in two cabins.
Tracy reports that the family is doing well in their new accommodations. Security is fantastic and the cleanliness is great, according to Tracy. The family is even having some fun on the ship, which boasts a free pinball arcade and plenty to eat.
“It is dry here and no mold,” says Tracy. “I’m not sure how we’ll get the kids to leave.”
Tracy and John are still trying to cope emotionally with their losses.
Their biggest challenge at the moment remains transporting the kids to school in Moss Point from Mobile, Ala. With an unreliable van and a two-hour commute, regular attendance remains impractical. But, they have decided not to enroll the children in the closer Mobile schools, knowing they would have to uproot the children again in a few weeks.
Still, the Hills remain optimistic that either their home can be repaired or they can get a FEMA trailer placed on their property. The kids hope the cruise ship will be moved to Pascagoula Bay after dock repairs, and they can stay there for six months.
“I volunteered at the Red Cross Jackson Service Center with my 10-year-old daughter to do something to help. I care about the Mississippi people and what has happened to them,” Tracy says. “There are wonderful Red Cross volunteers at the center.”
Tracy says that the compassion of the workers and volunteers in evident in everything they do, even in their body language.
“Red Cross has helped so much. There is such a wonderful attitude at [the Red Cross]. I am so grateful for all the people who volunteered to help us,” she continues. “I know they didn’t have to, but I am so very grateful that they did. If there is anyone else out there looking for something to do, offer to help.”
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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