Catastrophic Hurricane Strikes U.S. Gulf Coast

The force of Hurricane Katrina moved this home in Pass Christian, Mississippi across railroad tracks. Photo: Chris Rooks/Mercy Corps.

Mercy Corps is following news of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath with great concern for the immediate and longer-term needs of people living in coastal Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. A day after the hurricane stormed ashore, dozens of people have perished, millions are displaced and damage estimates are running into the tens of billions of dollars.

Mercy Corps is accepting donations to assist families who are displaced and who may have lost their homes to the hurricane.

Over one million inhabitants of New Orleans, Louisiana and surrounding cities were evacuated from their homes in advance of the storm's disastrous landfall. The Category Four hurricane, which brought with it raging winds over 135 miles per hour and a storm surge of up to 28 feet, has severely damaged buildings, knocked out electrical power and dumped several feet of floodwaters in New Orleans and cities on the Mississippi Gulf coast. There are fears that standing water in coastal cities could contaminate local water supplies, postponing families' return to their homes.

The mayor of New Orleans estimates that up to 80 percent of the city is underwater. Levees have broken and water continues to stream into the already-flooded city, further damaging infrastructure and raising concerns of widespread environmental contamination.

Survivors of this massive disaster and families displaced by the storm need your help. Experts are saying that it could be weeks before they're able to return to their homes, where they almost certainly face the uncertainty of rebuilding.

Though Mercy Corps focuses primarily on disaster response in developing countries, the agency has responded to domestic emergencies in the past. Following Hurricanes Andrew and Ivan, Mercy Corps offered substantial financial support to the domestic emergency relief organizations that were leading the relief effort.

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, Mercy Corps partnered with JP MorganChase, Bright Horizons, and the National Center for Grieving Families and Children to establish the Comfort for Kids program, which trained parents and educators in New York City to address children’s trauma following the terrorist attacks.

Families affected by Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst natural disasters to hit the U.S. in years, need your assistance. Please contribute to our Hurricane Katrina response fund to ensure displaced families have the help they need at this difficult time.