When Disasters Have Names

Isabel struck Poquoson a heavy blow, but the community – neighbors, churches and public officials – quickly organized in the spirit of mutual assistance.

Every disaster has a name. Isabel is the name of a hurricane that others saw on TV. Here in my home town, Poquoson, the disaster has many names – the names of neighbors we know and care about. In our locality of 4,360 residences, some 50 families lost their homes. The houses of some 2,000 more were damaged by the storm.

Despite the damage, we are grateful -- thankful that no one lost their life in our town. After all, in our hierarchy of values, sacred life and personal wellness come before property. Special items holding memories of sentimental value are important but not vital as are life and limb.

The emergency center in the ruined Middle School Gym is full of items freely donated for those who lost the most. The government didn’t stock the long tables, the people did. Volunteers operate the center.

We have much to applaud in our civil servants. The police, fire fighters and emergency medical personnel left their loved ones to serve us all and the most dangerous time. City/county, state and federal governments all did their part to speed the recovery. The earnestness and dedication of public officials in their performance of duty earned them much appreciation. We have much to be grateful for.

One consolation that arises from this devastation is the sense of good will it engenders. Citizens realize they don’t live in a cruel or heartless community. Our officials and our bureaucrats are our neighbors, and they care. Our public servants serve. The workers in companies that provide us power, cable and other utilities make personal sacrifices to bring our services back.

The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) set up its headquarters in the Christian Outreach Center, our gym, of my Baptist church home. Funny, no one seems concerned about the separation of church and state. Food is distributed through other churches in town. This suggests the kind of safety nets we should put into place in Virginia and in what order.

Individuals have a personal responsibility to carry insurance. For those who don’t, or don’t have enough, the General Assembly should create communities of common interests as multiple safety nets which citizens tap before they approach a government agency for assistance.

• Every extended family should be able to share their resources and discount from their taxes every penny they provide for relief. Dollar for dollar, it’s more efficient by a factor of five than going through government.

• Church families, communities of faith, should be the second safety net – and they are already for many folks.

• Communities of co-workers, like credit unions, should be equipped with new capabilities.

• Neighborhoods organized into credit union-like legal entities should be able to operate tax-free to pool resources and provide relief, loans, etc. for individual members.

If a person has none of these, then a welfare agency of the Commonwealth or the Federal government should step in with insurance or a loan as the final safety net.

But this is a vision for the future. Today, we must deal with the helping agencies as they are. We are thankful for the churches stepping up to provide real assistance, for the neighbors who share our burdens and joys, and for that which is good in government.

Here’s to our common cause on high ground indeed. We will recover and rebuild – even better than before Isabel. Storms cannot defeat my proud Virginian neighbors, they just set folks back a spell.

Our material losses remind me of what New York City feels after 9-11, what families across the country suffer when the flag-draped coffin comes home from WW IV. Let us honor their loved ones and their loss with courage of conviction. Let us pray for them. Let us cry with them. Let us never give up. And let us always remember the many names of Isabel and every other disaster.

-- October 6, 2003