Hurricane Sandy Animal Shelters

Helpless Animals Hit Hard By Hurricane Sandy

While the human toll of Hurricane Sandy is un-ignorable, it is so easy to forget the silent, helpless victims: the animals. The hurricane that left hundreds of people without homes and jobs also left hundreds of animals without food, shelter, medical care or hope. Fortunately, there are many organizations willing to bear the responsibility for these little creatures, but the question is: are they enough now that so many shelters are now uninhabitable?

Animal Shelters Currently Top Concern

The wind and water brought by Hurricane Sandy left dozens of shelters struggling to care for its animals. Many workers stayed on without electricity, running water or heat so that the animals could be looked after. Even though many of the shelters are being rebuilt, there is still the matter of housing the animals during the process.

Human Care Efforts Result in Lower Volunteers for Animal Support

Volunteers are beginning to dwindle, as well. The strain of the entire effort of rebuilding homes and other structures has sapped many of the human resources from the animal care efforts, and even though the shelters have bound together in order to give each other support in this difficult time, they still find that they are lacking the necessary staff to comfortably look after all of the animals.

Buster the Dogs Story

The recent story of Buster, the dog that disappeared while his family surveyed the damage done to the home, has highlighted the lack of shelter resources. For weeks, Buster’s family, the O’Donovans, searched the neighborhood for him, and because there was no internet service or even electricity, they couldn't search any of the shelter’s databases. They couldn't even safely travel to the city shelters.

Buster’s photograph was posted on a Facebook page dedicated to final appeals for the rescue of dogs that are about to be put to sleep. It was through sheer luck that the family discovered that Buster had been located but was scheduled for euthanasia. They rushed to call the Animal Care & Control Center where he was held, but no one answered the phone. Fortunately, they arrived at the shelter just in time to save their pet, and adopt another puppy whose previous owner had just dropped him off for fostering.

Volume of Lost Pets Entering Shelters is Causing Handling Difficulties

The shelters are obviously doing their best to accommodate all of the frightened and lost pets, but the volume has overwhelmed many of the centers. In Buster’s case, the AC & CC adhered to the basic standards of care, but they were so taxed that they were unable to respond to the volume of inquiries. It is very difficult for shelters to not only handle their usual volume of animals, while trying to put up with the influx of lost pets after the storm that all need to be reunited with their owners. Not to mention the stress of rebuilding.

Help is Still Needed

It is important that we all do what we can to help these services get back on their feet. Emergency grants have helped enormously, but volunteers are still sorely needed, and supplies are always welcome.

Julian Omidi on Hurricane Sandy Housing Aid Workers and Victims

Julian Omidi on Hurricane Sandy Housing for Aid Works and Victims

Julian Omidi is a philanthropist and cofounder of the charitable initiative No More Poverty with his brother Dr. Michael Omidi. In the following article, Julian Omidi discusses the housing situation post-Hurricane Sandy for both the storm victims and relief workers.

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Aid Workers stay aboard Merchant Marine Training Ships

With housing scarce for New York residents who found themselves homeless after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, where were the aid workers who traveled from Washington, Virginia and Pennsylvania going to stay? The answer is: aboard Merchant Marine training ships.

More than 1,000 aid workers were dispatched by the federal government to provide relief to the many thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Sandy. The teams have been working nonstop providing relief, outreach and recovery, and because there are so few vacancies in the New York hotels, the easiest and least expensive alternative was to install the workers on military training ships that are docked in the Bronx and Staten Island.

Because the workers spend so much time in the field working with victims, they only needed a place to bathe, have a meal and sleep for a few hours every night. The training ships offered classroom facilities as well, so that the FEMA directors could conduct orientation and assignment training sessions. The ship is outfitted with bunk beds, group showers, lockers, a mess hall and even a bar, where workers can occasionally meet and unwind.

Housing Situation for Storm Victims Unresolved

The housing situation for the storm victims is still unresolved. Many of the residents that were left homeless after the storms rendered their dwellings uninhabitable are staying in Manhattan hotels, although for many of them, it is uncertain for how long. Ironically, Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently discarded a plan to house the storm victims on luxury cruise ships from the end of December until May, stating that cruise ships were used for housing after Hurricane Katrina, and the result was unsuccessful.

The scramble in New York for temporary housing has been replaced by a scramble to repair the damaged homes, so that residents can move back into their residencies without having to transition into temporary shelters. Thus far, 400 of the approximately 100,000 damaged homes have been completed.

New Jersey is faring somewhat better in the housing situation. It was announced that new temporary developments are being developed at Fort Mammoth, a former military facility. According to a prepared statement issued by Richard Constable, Community Affairs Commissioner of the New Jersey Disaster Housing Task Force, “A very high percentage of displaced households were staying with family and friends when they registered with FEMA. However, as some of these housing situations become unsustainable, residents who have been unable to secure available, affordable housing will need additional temporary housing alternatives.”

Now that the demand for relief workers is diminishing somewhat, there aren’t as many federal workers being housed aboard the training ships. This might come as a relief to many of the workers, who have found it difficult to become accustomed to life in New York. Apparently, the stress of riding the subways outweighed the stress of working with the hurricane victims.