Hurricane Katrina: Amarillo Edition 09/04/05

The first of an estimated 750 evacuees from New Orleans will begin arriving in Amarillo today, perhaps even as I write this. A meeting was held this afternoon at Believers Way Church for people who wish to volunteer at the Amarillo Civic Center over the coming weeks and months. The organizers of the meeting, the Red Cross and Texas VIPERS, were totally unprepared for the large crowd of volunteers that showed up, though I question whether they could have handled even a small crowd. My wife and I left after about 30 minutes because our son had fallen asleep and the meeting was going absolutely nowhere. Up until that point no information was taken that would match volunteers to schedules or particular tasks. I don't know if the session improved any after our departure.

I understand these organizations are under a great deal of strain. Hopefully they will get their affairs in order over the next couple of days and make good use of the people who are offering their time. If you were there for the full meeting and have additional information to offer feel free to post it here.