Skelos Provides Information About Hurricane Relief And Hurricane Preparedness

Hurricane Katrina and its ensuing devastation focused the world’s attention on Louisiana, Mississippi and the entire Gulf Coast region. To date, Long Islanders have been among the most generous when it comes to donating time and money to help their fellow Americans in crisis.

Now, Hurricane Rita threatens to inflict even more harm on this region. If you wish to donate your time or resources to help victims, donating to legitimate organizations ensures that victims will receive assistance as quickly as possible.

According to the federal government, cash donations are the most helpful to hurricane victims in the Gulf Coast states. Monetary donations allow volunteer agencies to issue cash vouchers to victims so they can meet their needs. Cash donations also allow agencies to avoid the labor-intensive need to store, sort, pack and distribute donated goods.Donated money prevents the prohibitive cost of air or sea transportation that donated goods require.

Volunteer agencies also provide a wide variety of services after disasters, such as clean up, childcare, housing repair, crisis counseling, sheltering and food. If you’d like to contribute to disaster relief efforts for our fellow Americans in the Gulf Coast States, a list of website contacts set up solely for cash donations is provided below.

American Red Cross
Operation Blessing
Americas Second Harvest

I hope you find this information useful. If you would like additional information on how you can help, visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) web site.

Locally, Tropical Storm Ophelia just missed Long Island. Moreover, the Director of the National Hurricane Center recently told a congressional panel that he believes the Atlantic Ocean is in a cycle of increased hurricane activity that parallels an increase that started in the 1940s and ended in the 1960s.In addition, he included Long Island and New York City on his list of the cities and regions believed to be "especially vulnerable" to damage from a major hurricane.

As a public service, Long Island’s nine State Senators have partnered with supermarket chains Stop & Shop, King Kullen and C-Town to help educate Long Islanders on how to prepare their homes and families should a hurricane strike our area.

Informational brochures and posters are on display at 88 supermarkets across Long Island. Each brochure contains emergency plans, evacuation instructions and a list of suggested items to include in a basic hurricane kit. Most items are available at supermarkets and hardware stores.

In the Ninth Senatorial District, these materials are availableat the following locations:

C-Town at 1080 West Beech St. in Long Beach;
King Kullen at 1765 Peninsula Blvd. in Hewlett, 127 Sunrise Hwy. in Rockville Centre and 231 West Merrick Rd. in Valley Stream; and
Stop & Shop at 603 Burnside Ave. in Inwood and 3577 Long Beach Rd. in Oceanside.

I hope you find this service helpful.