Friday, March 25, 2016

Deployment: Shreveport, Louisiana

The flooding here is extensive. The drainage area along the sides of Highway 49 from Alexandria to Shreveport was 60 feet across in many places. I saw several homes from the highway that appeared to have no access to any roadways. On the flight into Alex, there were many homes, farmland areas, and fields that were obviously isolated by water. I'll assume these homes were evacuated.
I've met many volunteers who are new to me. There's only one person I knew from the tornado DRO from North Texas. I've heard though that a number of volunteers who have already served as relief for the tornado that damaged New Orleans recently, were pressed to serve again here in Shreveport. Some of them are overdue for some time off. I'm guessing that I'll get some orientation and serve as their relief. And I'm happy to do so.
All of the folks at the local chapter are welcoming and informative. I've also met a couple from Sarasota who volunteer seasonally while full-timing in their RV. As members of the Escapees RV club, they've joined other ARC volunteers who RV full-time who call themselves DUVs. I don't know what that acronym stands for.
The weather has cleared here in the Northwest part of the state. There's cooler weather that has followed the front that moved through Wednesday night. A sweatshirt is the order of the day.
The spirit of the local community here is worth noting. I'm not sure how best to fit in just yet. I've been to a couple of the local restaurants, and I get a sense that this is more "rural", than most city areas. I've bridged what could have been a barrier to effective communication by listening carefully to the Louisiana accent, helped as well by having spent as much time in the South that I have, I'm getting 90% of the words. Spoken quickly though, it does feel like another language at times. Overall, people here stick together, welcoming of people from the outside, but my sense is that building trust and being flexible to everyone's needs will be the priority.

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