Washington State Katrina

I was at a meeting last night brainstorming ideas to get some visibility for my candidate here in Washington, and someone came up with the idea of doing a fundraiser and visibility event in Lewis County because of the mine closure last year and the flooding.  I contacted the admin for the Lewis County group, and then contacted the county Chair.  I got the following answer:

(Warning, if you haven't heard how bad it is, like myself, this may be a bit of a shock.)

Chad,

Sorry, this is so long - I am exhausted and wordy.  The combination is not always a good thing.  Maybe I am hoping that someone in the campaign will take this to heart... maybe I am just hoping for one more volunteer or one more new pillow to be donated (take that as a heavy handed hint ~smile~)

More after the fold...

As a long-time Edwards supporter (in addition to being the chair of the party down here) I had been in contact with the Edwards campaign about getting the Senator to the county.  Lewis County would be a perfect place for a West coast poverty tour to start (please see the attachment: J. Edwards follow-up.doc).  One of his schedulers and one of his volunteer coordinators agreed that Lewis County would be a great place for the Senator to come.  I was told in October that I needed to contact the campaign after Iowa.

Then we were flooded.
There is no way to adequately describe the total devastation here.  I am frightened for the people of this conservative county - they are scared to death but very, very proud.  Many have lost everything and FEMA isn't able to help them with more than a $28,000 grant (maximum) and we are looking at street after street of houses that have been red tagged - condemned by the health department or the city engineers.  These folks don't know where to turn and don't want to take hand-outs

All the wells in the flooded areas are contaminated - most are poisoned to the extent that you cannot even touch the water. Boiling the water does nothing except kill some of the e coli.  I had a man come in my United Way Center yesterday with his wife... he had a horrible rash all around and in his mouth (scabbed, raw and bright red) - he figured it wouldn't hurt to just rinse out his mouth with the boiled water... it did.  The doctor appointment and medicines are expensive for someone who has not only lost his home but also his job due to the flooding.

I know the areas and the people who were flooded and know the stories of hundreds of flood victims and would be happy to share this knowledge with the Senator.

I have served as the coordinator for the Centralia United Way Distribution and Donation Drop-off Center since the day it was supposed to open and I walked into the empty hall with my donation of garbage sacks so the donations could be sorted.  There was no one there to take the sacks and at that point I became the coordinator of the Center.  The love and outpouring of kindness and donations has been awe-inspiring.  The needs and fears and bravery of the people affected by the floods has brought me to my knees regularly.

I am incredibly worried about the area.  I'm not sure that some of the smaller towns and little enclaves of houses will ever recover.  Most of the homes left in Doty and Dryad have been damaged beyond repair.  One home has a foundation and the roof (about 20 feet away in the backyard) but no one is sure where the rest of the house is. Pe Ell is inaccessible and all the new housing there is (I have heard) also damaged beyond repair.  Cinebar is wallowing under massive amounts of mud and so many of the farms in this largely agricultural area lost so many of their herds, one dairy farmer lost close to 200 cows, an acquaintance of mine lost 130 sheep.  No one knows exactly how many farm animals perished. It was only the grace of God that there were so few lives lost.

The East end of the county still has not come close to returning to normal after the flooding that hit them over a year ago.

We keep reading that it will be at least two years before things get back to normal barring any more flooding or natural disasters.  No one believes it.  The people here are losing hope.

I have one young woman who now manages to find her way back to the church we are using as the United Way distribution center every time it starts to rain.  She sends her little boy to play with one of the volunteers and I stand and hug her until she can quit shaking and crying.

It is my concern that like New Orleans and some of the back-water places devastated by Katrina, Lewis County will not recover from this disaster.

I could/would put together an event, a speaking engagement, an opportunity to help a family and/or neighborhood with 48 hours notice.  Give me a week for a fundraiser and I could get hundreds of people.

Please give me a call at your convenience and we can talk.  I am at the distribution center from approximately 9:00 a.m. to whenever I finally turn off the lights and leave.

Thanks,

Jan

PS - Knowing where "24susan" lives I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that she was severely affected by this flooding.  Thanks for the reminder that I need to check on her.

Jan Nontell

Chair, Lewis County Democrats

I'm going to post this other blogs.  And I'm going to lobby the WSDCC in January to have one of our upcoming meetings in Centralia/Chehalis so we can see first hand what needs to be done, and do it.  And I'm going to push the national political media into to pay attention to a small 110 delegate state way over here on the West Coast.  We need it.

Also, Jan has been using her cell phone far past the limit of her plan to coordinate the relief efforts.  If you can help her pay that bill so she can keep the "on the ground" efforts going, that would be great. Contact me if you can and I'll put you in touch.

•  tip jar

  The storm that hit was the equivalent of a Category 3 Hurricane, right in the middle of Western Washington.

  by chadlupkes on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 09:00:08 AM PDT

  •  Cat 3 equivalent...that is shocking.

    You would think a weather event of this magnitude would have gotten more coverage.

    Here are a couple of local donation links:
    Red Cross
    United Way

    by Rick Winrod on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 09:38:59 AM PDT

•  there are some similarities

  While not nearly as widespread as Katrina's devastation, the Washington floods share some characteristics with Katrina -- what nature wrought was made much worse by human (in)action.  The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has done a number of investigative stories on the lack of planning, lack of work on levees, lack of funding (both federal and state).  For instance, Larry Lange reported on December 6:

  Floodwaters in the Chehalis River Valley have covered Interstate 5 three times in 17 years, but officials are still grappling with how to solve the problem.

  The Army Corps of Engineers has proposed a $124 million plan that includes higher levees and changes to a dam on the Skookumchuck River that it believes will relieve flooding on the Chehalis, which this week overflowed its banks and covered the freeway with 10 feet of water.

  Local officials have worried that the Corps of Engineers plan, while it would protect the freeway, might simply back the water up into other areas and create other problems. The fighting prompted the state to withdraw some money for the work. Congress has financed it, but the biggest part of the needed money has yet to come.

  There has been a lengthy avoidance-dance performed by the Army Corps of Engineers, state government, federal government, elected officials, local residents, and many others:

  The state also has considered plans for simply raising the freeway as much as 12 feet, out of the flood elevations, at a cost approaching $400 million. The corps devised a plan including higher levees along the Chehalis and in the lower reaches of the Skookumchuck. Modifying the dam, the corps said, could create more space in the dam to catch and store flood water upstream.

  So far the Army Corps has spent $8 million on the project, for studies and initial design. Congress has kept some money flowing, and when President Bush vetoed federal Water Resources Development legislation this year, it overrode the veto and enacted a measure that continued to authorize the project, without full funding.

  Congress is now debating whether to spend another $150,000 this year for additional preliminary work. But two years ago, with locals undecided on action, state legislators shifted $30 million in state gas tax money from the I-5 work to another project. The local sponsor, Lewis County, withdrew its support in late 2006 because officials in Centralia and Chehalis thought the changes wouldn't protect enough people living there.

  With this most recent disaster, many of the players appear to be saying that they'll actually start developing solutions to the problem:

  Gov. Chris Gregoire said Wednesday she's convinced the latest closure will finally result in a solution to the flood problems. The freeway, under five feet of water in Centralia, was in its third day of closure, forcing some interstate truckers to detour all the way through Eastern Washington to get to Seattle.

  State Transportation Director Paula Hammond said 10,000 trucks and 44,000 passenger vehicles use I-5 through the region every day, and the state economy loses $4 million each day the freeway is shut.

  A committee including the two cities, the Chehalis Tribe and Lewis, Thurston and Grays Harbor counties is expected to begin meeting early next year to begin talking again about a solution. That is where the differences must be ironed out, Lewis County Commissioner Ron Averill said.

  Fuller blamed past inaction on "weak leadership," and Averill said some officials have delayed action as years past between floods. But, "We've got some people in office now that recognize the impasses of the past," Averill said. "I'm personally committed to doing something."

  We'll see...

  by N in Seattle on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 09:21:40 AM PDT

  •  I'd just add

    that for those unfamiliar with the geography, the stretch from where I90 and I5/I405 intersect south of Seattle all the way to the Oregon border is basically a tunnel with no way out to the rest of the world (except the ocean). That area sits between the Cascades and the ocean.

    There's one E-W highway that intersects that stretch of I-5, and that's US 12 which is two-lane blacktop that goes through White Pass to Yakima, and is kind of a miserable route even when there isn't much traffic.

    So when Centralia/Chehalis/I5 flood as badly as they did in the recent storm the people in that area are completely cutoff, and the next best interstate route from Portland to Seattle is 440 miles long (instead of the usual 175 miles).

    by badger on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 10:15:36 AM PDT

  •  Army Corp of Engineers

    People in this area may want to join the grass roots group that done some exposing of the Corp.  Maybe even contact Sandy and get a branch going in your area.  FL and CA already a part of the organization.

    levees.org

    by chigh on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 12:15:17 PM PDT

•  no idea

  I had no idea it was that bad.  Thank you for keeping us informed.

  It sounds like the EPA needs to get involved with the water contamination.  That is scary stuff.  Down here, in the Lower 9th ward the water wasn't potable until very recently (maybe 9 months ago?  my memory is fuzzy) but it never caused rashes like you describe.  Lots of crazy bacteria (giardia outbreaks) though.

  Please keep us posted.

  by alpelican on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 09:28:57 AM PDT

  •  Rashes

    Every body in NOLA that walked in the Katrina flood waters developed rashes, particularly in St. Bernard where there was oil contamination.  

    by chigh on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 12:10:18 PM PDT

    •  drinking water

      I meant from the water coming out of the taps.  The floodwaters were a totally different story, you're absolutely right.

      by alpelican on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 03:01:09 PM PDT

•  I had a bad feeling...

  ...that this would be the case when I saw the images of Centralia and I-5 under several feet of water.

  A friend of mine up in Seattle went to take a bunch of donations to the Red Cross for Lewis County yesterday, but was told that they've closed all their evacuation centers and are only taking money. Some of usual Red Cross BS, unfortunately, and doesn't help challenge the perception that either the flood wasn't that bad or that the damage is fixed and everything's fine.

  by eugene on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 10:06:44 AM PDT

•  I'm concerned

  that by tying your efforts so closely to the Edwards campaign you may discourage support from others (like myself) who support another candidate but want to help Lewis County to recover. Your thoughts?

  by howmartin on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 10:36:04 AM PDT

  •  Does that really matter?!

    I only mentioned the Edwards campaign because that's where I was when the subject came up.  I don't want Louis County to be the end of a race to the cameras, I want to help the people of that county.  What do I have to do to express this correctly without swearing up and down?

    I don't care if you're supporting Donald Duck.  Let's get these people the help they need!

    by chadlupkes on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 12:01:05 PM PDT

  •  I'm not done.

    This comment made me really pause and think.  And rage.  It pissed me off.  Howard, I know you're supporting Obama.  That's fine.  That's great.  THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SUBJECT OF THIS POST!

    Are we so divided, on December 18th 2007, that the mention of one candidate's name on a post that is begging people to help out a region destroyed by a natural disaster, that we can't even come together over the wall of intra-party bickering to help a region of our state that needs us?

    I'll be blunt.  My own medical conditions prevent me from quitting my job and driving down to Chehalis to ask what I can do to help.  I need the health insurance.  I have bills and child support to pay.  I'm stuck.  But I can at least get the word out, and hope that we can find a way to work together.  Because if we can't do it without being "allowed to" by the political candidates that we worship now before any votes have been cast, then we sure as hell won't be able to do it on January 21st, 2009 when we will have to to save our country!

    If you have $5 in your bank account that you can use to help, use it.  If that's all you can do, G-d bless you.  But don't bitch at me because I dared use a name that you don't support in a frickin' political election.  Damn!

    by chadlupkes on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 12:12:37 PM PDT

    •  Media

      Contact the national media and try to get some exposure.  Contrast it with the Katrina response.
      This makes me so sad that this country still has not learned it's lesson, even after the destruction of the Gulf Coast.  

      by chigh on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 12:17:46 PM PDT

    •  you started out

      saying you are working on the Edwards campaign, not saying you are trying to help the people in Lewis County. I have sent assistance to the people in Chehalis and didn't involve any political campaign, so I'm not sure what you're mad about. All I'm saying it keep the politics out and don't mix things up, unless you want to invite all good Democrats to help out. By the way, I don't know where you got the idea I bitched at you. I was trying to help you be more successful. But I guess you're not interested in my thoughts.

      by howmartin on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 02:33:03 PM PDT

      •  If I were not interested

        I would not have responded.  Let's try again.

        I'm concerned that by tying your efforts so closely to the Edwards campaign you may discourage support from others (like myself) who support another candidate but want to help Lewis County to recover. Your thoughts?

        How about I edit the first part of my post from "I'm working on the John Edwards campaign" to "I was at a meeting last night brainstorming ideas to get some visibility for my candidate"?  And how about I remove any mention of my candidate from the post?  And how about I remove the "John Edwards" tag from the post?  Already did that, btw.

        I wasn't trying to tie anything to any campaign.  If you took my post as such, I was wrong and I'll fix it.  But it really, truly shouldn't matter.  Your first reaction was concern about my advocacy discouraging others from helping because they are in a different camp.  This isn't about camps.  This isn't about candidates.  It's about helping Lewis County however we can.  I'm mad because dividing ourselves into camps is the first thing that happens, and it shouldn't be.  I'm frustrated by the idea that we can keep politics out of anything, which I don't consider to be possible or even desirable.  You were not "bitching" at me.  But you were dividing us right from the start.  We need to get beyond that.

        by chadlupkes on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 03:33:45 PM PDT

        •  my intention

          was not to divide but to unite. if we can invite all the democratic candidates to lewis county to call attention to the situation, so much the better.

          by howmartin on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 04:10:26 PM PDT

          •  Hurah!

            Now that I can get behind!

            by chadlupkes on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 09:50:24 PM PDT

•  So how can we help?

  What can we do to help here on the East Coast, Chad?? Please post addresses for donations/ items needed for those of us who don't have lots of $$?

  Thanks for drawing attention to this -- I was horrified when I saw the pictures on the news and it got such short shrift from the networks.

  Sarah J in VA

  by sarah john on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 07:44:31 PM PDT

  •  Lots of things

    First, thanks for asking.  Let's brainstorm a bit.  It's better than thunderstorm like I have been doing.  (Sorry Howie, didn't mean to be so harsh.)

    Contact your local news media and then national news media and ask them why they did not or are not covering the story.

    Contact your reps in Congress and ask them to push aid to the communities devastated by natural disaster.  We need the federal government to form a task force.  Call it Federal Disaster Relief (FDR), and put it to work.

    The local Red Cross and United Way don't need extra clothing anymore, and they're asking we don't send it.  But they are taking cash donations.  Links are above.  Also, here's a phone number to call.  Please keep the calls brief, specifically asking what you can send or what you can do, but feel free to call:

    360-736-9996 (Harrison Square Presbyterian Church – serving as the Centralia Distribution Center for Lewis County United Way)

    Post other ideas!

    by chadlupkes on Tue Dec 18, 2007 at 09:55:20 PM PDT

•  Another letter from Jan

  Hey Chad,

  I was just on the Daily Kos site and have to wait 24 hours until I can post anything.  So, you are my conduit to the blog.

  Just a few things:

  No more clothes... please.  We have more clothing than we know what to do with (and way too much of it is summer clothing when we are dealing with temperatures in the 40s and below.)

  Checks are gratefully being accepted by the United Way of Lewis County (Chehalis WA, 98532) and American Red Cross Mt. Rainer Chapter (734 South Market Blvd, Chehalis WA 98532). Additionally, my church has a fund set up with all money also going to flood victims/housing if people would like to donate there – Harrison Square Presbyterian Church (1227 Harrison Ave, Centralia WA 98531).  Designate on your checks no matter who you send them to that the funds are to go to FLOOD RELIEF.

  Please don’t call the church number.  We are so busy trying to answer the phone right now that we cannot help the people coming in... and they are our priority. I need every volunteer working with the people coming in and cannot spare them to answer phones.

  I know that people want to come and help but we have absolutely no housing available.  This is a rural county and every motel room we have available is filled by people without homes.  Having a huge influx of people to help could (perhaps) cause a secondary disaster in our already strained infrastructure.

  If you pray, pray.

  Also, I was whining to Chad about not getting my cell number out any farther out on the internet than it already is.  I can figure out how to pay the bill, no worries.  And about the Edwards references,  Chad and I are connected via the Edwards campaign, so it is natural for the two of us to have been discussing John Edwards.

  Although I usually hate to send anyone to the local newspaper, they have done a great job of covering the flood.  Here are some of the pictures if anyone is interested.

  http://www.chronline.com/...

  Jan

  by chadlupkes on Wed Dec 19, 2007 at 06:04:54 AM PDT

•  And

  Salvation Army (303 N. Gold Street Centralia WA)

  by chadlupkes on Wed Dec 19, 2007 at 06:18:01 AM PDT