Volunteer Shares Her Story of Louisiana Floods

This month’s deluge dumped more than twice the water on Baton Rouge as Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Scientology Volunteer Ministers rushed to the scene to help. More are on the way.

As storms pummeled Louisiana, a Scientology Volunteer Ministers Disaster Response Team arrived and is working with other volunteer groups to help local residents get back on their feet.

Some are organizing and distributing supplies in a local shelter. Others are helping people salvage their belongings and cleaning the mud and debris out of homes. Scientologists are helping alongside the National Guard along with volunteers from the Red Cross, Louisiana University and many other different groups and churches. Many more are on the way and the need for additional help is urgent.

Cathy, a volunteer from Baton Rouge, has never seen anything like it.

“Hurricane Katrina dropped 3 trillion gallons of rain on Louisiana in 2005,” she says. “This ‘no name’ storm last week dropped over 7 trillion gallons of rain and that doesn’t include the Amite River which went 10 feet above flood stage and sent huge amounts of water flooding into Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas. Watson, where we live, got the most rain in the state, 32 inches in 24 hours, an unbelievable amount. Some 90 percent of our area, Denham Springs and Watson, were affected—ranging from some water damage to complete loss of property. We have been told this is the worst flood in 500 years.”

More than a million responded to Katrina, but on CNN’s “State of the Nation,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said this disaster has received less attention because it wasn’t a hurricane or named storm. The need for more help is urgent.

“The entire area is a disaster zone,” says Cathy. “There’s the National Guard and hundreds of extra police have been recruited from other areas to help. Practically every street has huge piles of debris outside—furniture, clothes, drywall, everything you can imagine.”

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers International Headquarters in Los Angeles has put out a call for more volunteers. Those wishing to help should contact the International Volunteer Ministers Coordinator immediately at the Volunteer Ministers website.