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9/4/07: Felix Lands • Henriette Brews • Peru Survivors • Dean Aftermath
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1. Hurricane Felix Lands 9/4/07, from capron@pets911.org — From a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane in 46 hours, Felix breaks all records. At 2am this morning (Labor Day) the winds were 165 mph. They've come down to a cat 4 since but this storm should be watched... We're sending this alert because some tracks show Felix veering East and heading for Florida, and one track shows it hitting Texas and/or Louisiana. Most of the fear we have for an approaching storm is because of lack of preparedness. Think about it — if you had a completely stocked bomb shelter for your family and pets, and everything else was shuttered down and fully protected, there would be nothing to worry about. It's safe to say then that getting your family and pets fully prepared is the answer for less emotional stress. It is also the way to greatly reduce or even eliminate the chance of injuries during or after the storm. If Felix starts to veer East at any time, we'll send you an update. Animal Rescue Groups check our web site: www.pets911.org/emergency/groups.html
2. Felix Makes Landfall;
Henriette Heads To Baja California Sur SEPTEMBER 4 2007 / Transcribed from CNN report: Hurricane Felix, a Category 5 storm, makes landfall in Nicaragua. A fearsome storm slamming into Central America, winds at 160mph. Thousands of tourists and residents moved to higher grounds along the Honduran coastline... First time since 1886 two Category 5 hurricanes (Dean) made landfall in same season. Fairly compact storm. Now getting the surge, with tornado like winds. Very mountainous area...expect mudslides, flashfloods etc. with rainfall across the region. FELIX PATH: Continuing westward. Most of damaging winds to north of the center of hurricane. 100+ mph winds. Storm does not have moisture source of ocean, so will weaken.
HENRIETTE STRENGTHENS TO A HURRICANE... 85
mph winds, at least a Category 1 strength hurricane.
3. PERU: Groups Responding To Pets Deserted In
Earthquake From Jessica Higgins, jesshiggins@yahoo.com, jhiggins@hsi.org — If people fly down on their own, I would suggest hooking up with one of those local groups. Another big issue is the zoos in Ica — there are about 200 animals that have not gotten relief. I've contacted a group here in the US (who has lots of zoo vets/rehabbers) to see if we can help there. If people are going independently, I would really suggest finding people with some Spanish skills to help coordinate. SUPPORT: PERUVIAN ASSOCIATION FOR ANIMAL PROTECTION SUPPLIES NEEDED: Dry food • Cat/Dog canned food • Water • Any
type of farmer’s animal food DONATIONS CAN BE MADE TO: Angela Sanchez, asppavoluntario@hotmail.com — The Peruvian Ministry of Health has requested our help to assist animals dying from starvation down south Lima. Most of them have been abandoned by their shocked owners, are injured and lying helpless on the streets. They are not being helped since they’re not consider priority. SUPPORT: GRUPO CARIDAD SUPPORT: UNIDOS POR ANIMALES From Jessica Higgins, jesshiggins@yahoo.com, jhiggins@hsi.org — Unidos Por Animales is also responding. We're planning to send funds... I don't have info for UPA, but I might be able to hunt it down.   PHOTOS: www.asppa-peru.org/ KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
8/22/07, Canadian volunteers go to Peru to help animal survivors of quake, Elaine O'Connor, CanWest News Service; VANCOUVER — Canadian volunteers are going to Peru to help survivors of the magnitude 8.0 earthquake that devastated the central coast of the South American country last week. But the volunteer group won't tend to wounded citizens. These medical specialists will tend to often-overlooked survivors: pets. More than 500 people were killed and 1,000 injured when the quake leveled buildings, highways and 34,000 homes on Aug. 15. The Canadian Animal Assistance Team (CAAT) is sending 31 volunteer veterinarians and technicians to the country next week to treat Peruvians' wounded animal companions. Vancouver technician Donna Lasser founded CAAT in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and sent 82 volunteers to Louisiana to provide pet care in the fall of 2005. When Dr. Bill Ignacio of Granville Island Veterinary Hospital heard of the quake, he thought, "I hope we're going there." CAAT had already been planning to head to Peru this fall to hold animal health clinics in communities in the Amazon. But the group quickly changed plans. Two teams headed to the Peruvian communities of Ica and Pisca... "We're not involved in retrieval or rescue, but once the pets have been rescued we're there for triage, we put them back together," Ignacio said. "What we are hoping to do is get these animals back to their families." He said the group hopes to heal the wounds of families who have lost their homes and loved ones by at least reuniting them with their pets. Any animals that can't be matched with families will be treated and cared for in shelters or foster families until their owners can be found. The non-profit registered charity doesn't have financial sponsorship for its work, which has included animal-aid and education missions in Guyana, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Fiji. SUPPORT: CANADIAN ANIMAL ASSISTANCE TEAM (CAAT) 5. PERU: Recovery Efforts
and Animal Rescue Continue 8/30/07, from Humane Society International (HSI) — As residents of Ica and Pisco begin picking up the pieces, Lima-based animal welfare organization Grupo Caridad is stepping in to help care for the animals affected by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake, which jolted the region on August 15. PROVIDING RELIEF: Fernando Moreno, founder of Grupo Caridad, has been sending HIS (Humane Society International) frequent updates from the field. He and a volunteer team of veterinarians, veterinary technicians and other trained disaster responders reach Pisco on August 19. "We arrived in Pisco with other organizations, Unidos Por Los Animales and the Asociacion Peruana de Proteccion a los Animales. The magnitude of the catastrophe is much worse than what has been shown on TV. Downtown Pisco no longer exists — it has been reduced to rubble," says Moreno. "Many frightened animals are roaming the streets, traumatized by what happened. Many others wait among the debris, perhaps expecting that their owners will return." Grupo Caridad veterinarians have treated more than 200 animals in Pisco and distributed over 1,500 pounds of food to pet owners and roaming animals.
STAYING THROUGH THICK AND THIN: Grupo Caridad is planning to continue their rescue and relief efforts and expand their assessment and response to other affected areas. "We will keep a team of vets and responders in Pisco until Sunday [September 2] to keep offering free services and food to pets and their owners," reports Moreno. "There is also a region called Huancavelica where animals and people are really affected by the disaster. Apparently no aid has arrived there yet. We expect to be able to visit Huancavelica and continue our work in Pisco and surrounding areas." SUPPORT: GRUPO CARIDAD SUPPORT: HSI INTERNATIONAL DISASTER FUND FOR ANIMALS
8/30/07, from Humane Society International (HSI) — The HSUS and Humane Society International are on the ground, providing relief and assisting in recovery efforts for animals in Mexico, following Hurricane Dean. While the resort area of Cancun was spared from the storm's fury on August 21, many coastal towns and villages in the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula sustained a great deal of damage following the Category 5 storm... SANCTUARY IN SHAMBLES: Dr. Barry Kellogg, acting director of disaster services for The HSUS, describes one scene the team encountered: Marco Benetiz, a veterinarian with an environmental organization called African Safari, escorted us to a place in Chetumal called Jardin Zoologico Payo Obispo, where we met with some of the staff. They were led by Marisol Corro Albornoz, a young veterinarian that had been on the job for about a year. It is somewhere between a zoo and a sanctuary.
Our hearts were broken very quickly. What had once been, I suspect, a very beautiful animal sanctuary for some 430 animals of all species (birds, jaguars, pumas, monkeys and so on) was totally devastated. All of the trees (and therefore canopy) were destroyed. It was very hot. No animals were lost, but many enclosures were damaged, and the fallen trees are preventing the animals from being taken out of lock-down... The HSUS, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the World Society for the Protection of Animals are all providing grants to Jardin Zoologico Payo Obispo to rebuild the facilities and increase the capacity of its veterinary clinic to handle the issues brought about by the storm. COMMUNITIES IN NEED: The team has visited a number of small communities that were directly in the path of the hurricane. While some suffered wind damage, others, like Mahahual -- the largest town on the Xcalak peninsula and home to about 1,000 people — also experienced storm surges of more than 20 feet.
These areas are devastated, and animal needs local veterinary treatment to wildlife concerns. shortand long-term assistance. HSI and The HSUS organization for ongoing veterinary treatment affected communities on the Peninsula...
SUPPORT: HSI INTERNATIONAL DISASTER FUND FOR ANIMALS
9/4/07, Kinship Circle received correspondence from a Jamaican animal rescue group, The Animal House, seeking aid from the global rescue community. 8/28/07, from The Animal House, info@theanimalhousejamaica.org — I write to ask if you could assist us in overcoming the damage we sustained during Hurricane Dean. Although none of our animals were seriously injured (thank God) we did have considerable amount of damage including the loss of our kennel roofs, loss of our back doors and the almost complete destruction of our perimeter fence. We also lost supplies because of flooding. What we are finding now is an increase in the number of stray and injured
animals we are taking in as well as very sick dogs (possible poisoning,
or perhaps Parvo, no firm diagnosis yet given). If you can assist us
in any way we would greatly appreciate it. SUPPORT: THE ANIMAL HOUSE
Susan Meyer, Executive Director KAT 5 Animal Rescue — Catastrophic flooding continues today across the central Plains and Midwest as a train of thunderstorms move across the region,” according to ACCU WEATHER. www.accuweather.com/news-top-headline.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler= 0&date=2007-08-22_16:37&month=8&year=2007 Severe storms have caused floods through different regions of the country. Tropical Storm Erin caused massive flooding in parts of Texas and Oklahoma. Many of these areas were already saturated due to rainfall during previous weeks. Approximately 20 counties in Minnesota, Wisconsin, northeast Iowa and northwest Ohio are under assault by more recent flooding, much of it along the Mississippi river. KAT 5 Animal Rescue has been in touch with authorities in regions affected by Tropical Storm Erin. We are continuing to get updates. The situation is fluid but as of today, none of the communities that we have spoken to are requesting search and rescue for animals. We are awaiting calls back for supply requests and animal sheltering and possible transport. Animal shelters are offering assistance to regions in need. Tara’s Babies in the Dakini Valley, Arizona
has offered to take in dogs displaced by Tropical Storm Erin... Coulee Region Humane Society In Lacrosse, Wisconsin has room to board 12 cats for regions with displaced animals. Confirm availability: 608-781-3187 KAT 5 Animal Rescue is requesting our volunteers be on alert for possible
deployment. Please email KAT 5 if you are interested in volunteering
with us in any capacity. UPDATES / PROGRESS: http://network.bestfriends.org/kat5/news/default.aspx?gu=kat5 • www.sixdegrees.org/Top.aspx SUPPORT: KAT 5 ANIMAL RESCUE
8/28/07, from Let The Animals Live — We are seeking a plastic surgeon who can help a poor dog rescued yesterday by "Let the Animals live" in Jerusalem. The dog’s face was violently corrupted probably by acid.
9/1/07, Feds to restrict volunteers at disasters * By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press * NEW YORK — Retiree Gene O'Brien hurried to the World Trade Center site after Sept. 11, 2001, as a volunteer helping to shuttle supplies to police and fire workers. Some days, his only ID to get into the disaster site was a tattoo on his forearm. "A couple times I showed them my Marine tattoo, and they said go ahead," recalled O'Brien, adding that he and other volunteers also came up with their own makeshift identification cards. We didn't forge anything, we just made them up with our own pictures and at one point we copied a UPC code off a Pepsi can and they were as good as gold," said the Scarsdale resident. It might not be so easy the next time disaster strikes. In an effort to provide better control and coordination, the federal government is launching an ambitious ID program for rescue workers to keep everyday people from swarming to a disaster scene. A prototype of the new first responder identification card is already being issued to fire and police personnel in the Washington, D.C., area. Proponents say the system will get professionals on scene quicker and keep untrained volunteers from making tough work more difficult. But they also know it is a touchy subject, particularly for those devoted to helping in moments of crisis. "Wow, how in the world do we say this without love and respect in our hearts?" said deputy assistant U.S. Fire Administrator Charlie Dickinson. "Everybody wants to come to the fight, so to speak, and no one wants to step back and say 'No, I can't do this.' The final coup de grace was the World Trade Center. Hundreds came that were never asked," Dickinson said. "Good intentions, good hearts, and it was extremely difficult for the fire department and the other departments to deal with them." The Federal Emergency Management Agency came up with the idea after the World Trade Center attack and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when countless Americans rushed to help — unasked, undirected, and sometimes unwanted. Many of those volunteers angrily dispute the notion they were a burden. They insist that in many instances they were able to deliver respirators, hard hats, and protective boots to workers when no one else seemed able. Ground zero volunteer Rhonda Shearer and her daughter launched a fast-moving supply system that bypassed regular channels, often infuriating city officials. Even as she delivered box trucks packed with supplies over months of recovery work, she increasingly ended up in a cat-andmouse game with New York City's police and emergency management agency. Shearer, 53, said the experience convinced her that agencies are ill-equipped to handle major disasters — but don't want outsiders pointing out their failings. Similar frustrations arose after Katrina, when people were shocked that the government struggled to take basic supplies such as water to the worst areas. "They're more worried about keeping volunteers out than doing an analysis of what really went wrong," Shearer said. "Independent citizens need to be involved, where we have no ax to grind or cross to bear. But we will tell the truth, and we will tell what we see and bear witness to the incompetence." Dickinson, federal fire official, said the government is not trying to discourage volunteers, but thinks within a few days of a disaster civilians should step back and let professionals take control. Supporters say the ID cards could be checked at a disaster area with a card-reader device and used to verify a person's unique skills. For example, if police officers have been trained to handle hazardous materials, officials at the scene could deploy them to an area where their skills would be best put to use. For reasons ranging from general safety to protection from lawsuits, construction and demolition companies want to see a disaster ID card program succeed. Mike Taylor, executive director of the National Demolition Association, said his industry is talking with aides to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger about putting it in place in his state. "If California goes ahead and does that, it will flow across the country. This is a really smart idea by someone in the Bush administration to be able to control access to the site and frankly, make sure there are no untrained people," Taylor said. "If somebody goes running down to the site, you have to stop and ask them, wait, are they certified to do this work?"
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PHOTO: Felix takes aim at Central America: A woman stands outside her home
before moving into a shelter in preparation for the arrival of Felix in
Belize City on Monday, Sept. 3. (Note 2 dogs at lt.
and rt. edges of photo. Strays and outdoor “pets” abound in economically deprived countries...and
rarely don’t evacuate with their humans). 
PHOTO: Jeff Eyre, HSUS. Parque Zoologico Payo Obispo. This jaguar came
to the sanctuary after being used for tourist photo opportunities and
then released into the forest once she was too big to be handled.
PHOTO: Jeff Eyre, HSUS. Dr. Barry Kellogg gives water to dogs, Yucatan
coast.
PHOTO: Troy Snow (permission granted). Photo shows a dog in New Orleans
flood waters after Hurricane Katrina and is not an animal from the recent
flooding from Tropical Storm Erin.
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