LaredoBuzz.Com

Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

 (Laredo, TX – July 14, 2010 – 3 PM)  In the aftermath of the swollen Rio Grande which inundated homes and some businesses along the riverbank, Laredo citizens, churches, corporations and other organizations have each taken the lead in organizing collection drives to help the victims of the flood.  To help provide a way to organize and distribute those items collected, the City of Laredo has a warehouse that will be accepting items donated in these differing collection drives, as well as receiving any items people wish to donate directly. 

 The warehouse is located at 1701 East Calton Road (on the former Laredo Air Force Base), and currently, will be open Monday – Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  All organizations that are collecting items are asked to bring them to the warehouse, with volunteers, to help unload.  Any citizen who wishes to donate directly can also stop by the warehouse and drop off their donation. 

Items being requested include: new or gently used furniture, appliances, mattresses, bedding and towels, as well as cleaning supplies and toiletries, and all matter of baby items, such as strollers, car seats, cribs, etc.

 All new or gently used clothing items being donated should be dropped off at Bethany House, located at 815 Hidalgo (in downtown Laredo), also Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  While all sizes of new or gently used clothes is being requested, only NEW items of women’s, men’s and children undergarments are being accepted.

 “We need everything,” said Erasmo Villarreal, director of the City of Laredo’s Building Development Services adn coordinator for the City of Laredo flood recovery relief effort, who is spearheading the coordination of collection efforts.  “Currently, we have a City of Laredo team finalizing the assessment of the damages, so that once we have collected all the items, they can be more easily distributed.”

 The donation efforts are for victims of the flood in Laredo only, specifically for those displaced residents of Los Martinez, Allen and Water streets.  Those residents should call 3-1-1 to make sure they are on the list the City of Laredo is compiling to facilitate the assessment process. 

 Individuals who wish to make a monetary donation can do so at First National Bank, located at 6625 San Dario; 6002 McPherson; or 2102 Guadalupe, to account number 101-0000-201-0000, specifically for Alex 10 Disaster Relief Fund.

 or more information on the City of Laredo collection efforts, call the City’s Mobile Command Center at 635-0692.

 The Mobile Command Center is a joint effort of the City of Laredo Fire Department and Police Department, located in the Los Martinez neighborhood, to better serve the public with reliable and information and resources for whatever they may need.  Under the command of Fire Chief Steve Landin, who is also the Emergency Operation Command Chief, the mobile command center has been running 24 hours to serve the community.  EMS crews are on site to provide support and assistance to any health issues that may arise in the area due to the clean-up efforts.  Police Investigator Jose E. Baeza, Public Information Officer for the Police Department said that police units are making concentrated efforts and patrols around those areas where there are abandoned homes and furniture and other possession left outside.

  Additionally, the City of Laredo wants to help victims of the flood help facilitate the recovery relief process by advising them of what steps to take as the City of Laredo anticipates the state and federal disaster declaration and relief funds.

 Citizens should hold on to all receipts for anything they have spent in relation to the flood recovery, including, but not limited to:  food, clothing, cleaning supplies, repairs, equipment/tools and shelter.  Additionally, residents should document what was affected with lists and photographs, if at all possible.

 Currently, the City of Laredo Community Development Department is advising residents of programs currently in place funded by Community Development Block Grants, through U.S. Housing & Urban Development funds, for low-income citizens, which can provide assistance to remove and correct hazards in home. 

 “Another program the department has in place is the homeless prevention and rapid re-housing, which provides assistance to displaced qualifying low-income families to assist with emergency hotel/motel stays and/or rental deposits;” said Ronnie Acosta, director of the department.  “These programs are contracted through the Bethany House, Catholic Social Services and Webb County; residents should contact those agencies directly to see if they qualify.  Finally, the department is seeking additional assistance from HUD to allow exceptions to some of the program rules to be able to provide additional assistance. 

 The City of Laredo Health Department has been spraying for mosquitoes since Saturday, starting along the most vulnerable and affected flooded areas along the riverbanks (Los Martinez, Allen Street, etc.) and is now moving inside the city fanning south, north and west, then repeating the process, spraying the entire county three times.  According to Dr. Hector Gonzalez, director of the department, part of the problem causing so many mosquitoes is that there is still a lot of standing water and a lot of trash in area. 

 “Thanks to Public Works who is doing a great job of picking up the trash, many neighborhoods are getting cleaned up of trash,’ said Gonzalez.  “However, people still need to wear repellent, which is being distributed in the areas, as well.   Other efforts to combat the mosquitoes include throwing larvacides in standing bodies of water.

People are reminded once again to not eat any food that was in the refrigerator/freezer or that was covered in flood waters.  That should all be thrown out immediately.  Most importantly, no one should be swimming or wading in the Rio Grande.  

 “We still don’t know what’s in there, such as snakes or other dangers,” stressed Gonzalez.

 Adults who live in the flooded areas or those who are working in those areas may face infection from cuts and other dangers, so they should make sure they are protected against tetanus.  The Health Department will be hosting a free clinic in the Los Martinez neighborhood at the City’s Mobile Command Center for adults only, immunizing for tetanus only.

Finally, residents are encouraged to use bleach, soap, water and disinfectant to prevent modl from building in walls, ceilings and floors.  While people may not want to use bleach on sofas, if they dry out properly in the sun, they should be okay.  However, those sofas and mattresses especially that were completely inundated should be tossed.  Please see the attached City of Laredo Health Department flyer for more health tips.

 The City of Laredo Public Works Division has been working diligently in assisting the victims of the flood in removing debris in those neighborhoods.  According to John Orfila, Public Works Division manager, he is also monitoring the condition of streets in the areas that were flooded, particularly those near the river and in the downtown area so that Public Works crews can go out and patch any potholes or do any other repairs to the roads, as necessary.

 The Rio Grande has receded to approximately 25-26 feet and is slowly receding.  It is expected to rise another three feet, but then continue to recede for the rest of the week, until next week.

 The highways leading out of the City of Nuevo Laredo into the interior of Mexico, specifically, the roads leading to Anahuac and Monterrey, are now open, which should now allow traffic, both commercial and private, to be able to go into and out of the city. 

 For more information, citizens should call 3-1-1.