Florida State University - Renegade / Tally Ho Yearbook (Tallahassee, FL)

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J urricane victim Kathy Anderson stands outside of her demolished Homestead resi- dence. For many ot Andrew ' s victims, there was nothing left after the hurricane ravaged through south Florida. Photo by Lua AnderMti. ( prooted trees line a street in Homestead as another reminder of Andrew ' s destructive capabili- ties. Along with the residents of the area, nature was another victim of the hurricane ' s devas- tating strength. Photo by Boh Gibiion. 11 Student Life

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■kl». JP : Andrew THE HURRICANE THAT BROUGHT SO MUCH DESTRUCTION Hurricane Andrew drove through southern Florida devastating the property of local residents. Families were left homeless, without food and water. Although relief efforts immediately formed around the state nothing seemed to fill the needs of those affected by the destructive storm. Residents became refugees in their own land and they were forced to rely on the kindness of total strangers for their survival. Approximately 20,000 families received vouchers to get resettled and Red Cross officials estimated that 40,000 more families needed similar help. Ironically enough, the Red Cross had its hands full with typhoon victims in Guam and Hawaii and flood victims in the Midwest, as well as the families of Homestead. The Salvation Army also brought vans into the city with hot meals and cold drinks. Their carpenters immediately began work on repairing houses and joined the efforts of several local church organizations in their quest. The Federal Government moved families into portable metal homes and several relief agencies began builing new houses. Four days after the hurricane, 20,000 soliders arrived in Homestead and the greater Miami area to help with the efforts. Strict curfews were enforced by the military men to deter vandals from taking A ' hat little was left from local businesses and other personal belongings. Road blockades were set up which made entrance into the city difficult. Those who fled the area had to show definite proof of residence in order to be admitted into the city to return to what was left of their homes. In addition to the federal aid, thousands of men and women came from all over the United States. Many were from South Carolina and had survived Hurricane Hugo two years ago. The enormous number oi volunteers treated the victims with kindness and generosity. I couldn ' t believe the amount of support that we received. People were so kind. The last thing that I expected was the work of the Army, though, Rose Acosta, a Homestead resident, said. The Red Cross generated $59 million and the Salvation Army $10 million for the reconstruction of the disintegrated city. Tractor trailers brought tons of food, building supplies, mountains of used clothing and the equivalent of lakes in drinking water. Most of the donated goods went to the survivors. However, during the initial confusion, some of the shipments were accidentally dumped outdoors. Cartons of food broke open in the rain and great piles of clothes were soaked and had to be thrown away. Insurance companies worked feverishly on homeowner, life and auto claims for their clients. Despite positive volunteer efforts, some added more problems to an already desperate situation. Landlords forced residents to continue payment on their property and rented apartments. If they refused, eviction was eminent. Even with all the government and local help, universities around the state felt it was time to step in and help out. The relief effort was started as a result of a conversation Student Body President, Jeanne Belin had with University of Miami Student Body President David Diamond. T v as interested in this project because I was aware of the devastation the students would face. Plus I have family down there and I was concerned about their welfare, Belin said. Once Belin finished speaking with Diamond, she contacted the Vice President ' s Project Council to see if they wanted to help. The VPPC responded immediately by forming groups and calling the papers to get community support. Carrie Pollock, a member of student government, was chosen to head the relief project by the VPPC. I always wanted to be a part of Student Government. I contacted Jeanne Campbell and soon after was involved with the VPPC. I took on the relief effort because I am from Miami and I knew they could use anything we could give them, Pollock said. Another key player in organizing the relief effort vas food services director Joe Pianese. BY TRICIA TIMMONS Hurricane 21

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Destruction (Continued from page 21) I don ' t know if we could have done it without Joe. He was an integral part of our operation. Without his leadership, things may not have gone so well, Belin said. Pianese said that when he saw the destruction in the Miami area he knew something had to be done. I was talking to the Marriott folks about Miami and Florida International and what we could do, and that same day I saw that Jeanne was urging people to give canned goods to the effort. I figured we should get together and see what we could do. We veren ' t sure vhat they needed but we figured they would need the basic items for survival like water, nonperishable food and clothing, Pianese said. Pianese, along with food services manager Bob Gibson, gathered supplies such as tar paper and other roofing tools and drove down to Miami the Wednesday following the hurricane. Originally, the University of Miami didn t want to become a relief site, but after the damage was surveyed, it became apparent that the use of the facility, along with Florida International University, would be necessary to aid in the effort, Pianese said. Miami mostly needed tar paper to help patch ceilings and replace roofs and Florida International needed clothes, water and canned goods, Pianese said. Pianese and Gibson left Wednesday for Miami and noted that the turnpike reserved two areas at each toll so those helping out in the relief effort could avoid the burden of paying to get to their destination. Everyone was helpful going down there and once we arrived. Bob and I both had friends that lived in Fort Lauderdale so we also had a place to stay. That made things a lot easier, Pianese said, we even made it back to Tallahassee Thursday evening. Although the effort went well, south Florida still required more help. We ' re now working on a project to get supplies to the Indians in the Everglades, everyone seems to have forgotten about them. We ' re going to use all of our resources to help as many people as we can, Belin said. ' This project will be going on for a long time. It involves all of us regardless of vhere we live. There ' s still a lot that needs to be done, Pollock said. K, olunteers fill a storage truck with many needed goods for the south Florida survivors. Shortages in everything from clothing to bottled brought generous donations from a caring and con- cerned Tallahassee and university community. Photo by Bob Gib wn. Hurricane 23