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IKE-TEXAS (UPDATED) Oct-2-2008 (800 words) With photos posted Sept. 29 and 30. xxxn
Southeast Texas residents still coping with traumatic effects of Ike
By Karen Gilman
Catholic News Service
BEAUMONT, Texas (CNS) -- When a hurricane hits hard, it can be life-changing. When hurricanes hit twice in less than three years, it can be traumatic.
Southeast Texas has now been hit with hurricanes twice in less than three years -- Rita hit Sept. 24, 2005, and this year Ike hit Sept. 13.
Some of the problems were the same -- mandatory evacuation, major power outages, downed trees, holes in roofs, days spent away from home.
Other problems were different.
Rita wasn't a large storm but most of the area had the same kind of destruction. Ike brought a 15-foot or so storm surge, leaving communities under water for days, leaving marsh grass and cane in the backyard and destroying furniture, clothes and photos of loved ones.
After Ike came ashore, some communities were hit harder than others.
In Sabine Pass in the Beaumont Diocese, the storm surge of water reached about 15 feet. Many of the homes and businesses, including the fire station, were destroyed.
St. Paul Church and its hall received major damage from the storm, the surge tearing out walls and scattering the contents of the buildings throughout the community.
Parishioner and Sabine Pass School principal Kristi Heid said it was heartbreaking to see the damage to the Sabine Pass community.
"I cried harder over my church than I did my house," she said, adding that her two sanctuaries were her home and her church.
Her home will have to be torn down and built again. An engineer said that it was twisted on its foundation.
"It's heartbreaking," Heid said, "but it's stuff. It can be replaced."
The storm surge was also felt in Orange County.
Much of Bridge City received a surge of up to 8 feet or so in places. St. Henry Parish there was affected, but parishioners gathered Sept. 21 for Mass.
From a makeshift altar on the stage of a parish hall lit mostly from sunshine, Father Steve Leger, pastor, declared: "We are the survivors."
Parishioners gathered with teary eyes and somber hearts to celebrate Mass after Hurricane Ike brought about 18 inches of water into the church building.
Tight hugs and comforting words defined the atmosphere of a city wrought with unexpected loss. Most in the congregation had homes with severe water damage, causing them to throw massive carpet rolls and cherished possessions into yards and ditches.
"It's about the worst I've seen, and I've been around here a long time," said construction worker Simon Lightfoot.
As Lightfoot's workers across the parking lot stripped church buildings of ruined flooring, parishioners could be heard speaking words of graciousness to God and one another.
Even after losing homes and not knowing where to turn next, attendance at St. Henry appeared to remain unchanged. Although much was lost, parishioners were eager to turn pain into strength and start over again.
Out of the diocese's 52 parishes and missions and its two stations, all but 10 received damage -- and 12 of those with damage received it from the storm surge and high winds.
Different parishes have come together to help each other in the aftermath of Ike, with both parishes and parishioners donating money, time and everything from cleaning supplies to Bibles.
"Our people have been very generous," said La Salette Father Ron Foshage, pastor at St. Michael Church in Jasper.
His parish is among those that have teamed up to be partners with three other parishes hit hardest by the hurricane. They will be parish partners for 10 months, splitting the donations among the three churches.
Even before southeast Texas felt the initial wind gusts from Hurricane Ike, the diocese's Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas was already preparing a response.
After the storm hit Catholic Charities operated several distribution sites to provide essential survival items to hurricane victims. Staff and thousands of volunteers helped victims needing water and food, giving them some hope in a time of grief and sadness.
Donations for relief efforts include $10,000 from Catholic Charities USA and $25,000 from the Kenedy Memorial Foundation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has given items for storm victims. The Red Cross and the Salvation Army have provided warm meals to families whose food stores are dwindling.
"We are trying to identify other funding sources to fund the response to Ike," said Dean Terrebonne, president and CEO of the diocesan Catholic Charities agency.
"We also hope to provide case managers for long-term case management and the distribution of financial assistance" to communities that were hit the worst and have minimal resources, he said.
"We are going to be here for the long haul," said Randi Fertitta, Catholic Charities' director of disaster, trauma and loss.
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Contributing to this story was Russ Furry.
END
Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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