Kinship Circle: FL Tornadoes Leave People/Pets Homeless
February 5th, 2007 10:46 pm by Kelly Garbato———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] brick.net
Date: Feb 5, 2007 7:10 PM
Subject: FL Tornadoes Leave People/Pets Homeless
KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER RELIEF – PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST
2/5/07: [RELIEF GLOBAL] Florida Tornadoes Leave People/Pets Homeless
PAST NEWSLETTERS: www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/default.html
FIND OUT IF YOUR STATE HAS AN ANIMAL DISASTER RELIEF PLAN:
www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/animal-disaster-plans/
IN THIS ALERT:
1. REPORT: Florida Tornadoes And Animal Relief
2. SPCA Deployed to Help Tornado’s Four-legged Victims
3. Central FL SPCA Seeks Help For Displaced Animals
4. FL Tornado Recovery Continues
5. FL State Emergency Operations Ctr. Report
6. [Endangered] Crane Survived Florida Storm That Killed 17 Others
7. Florida Animal Disaster Response Resources
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FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE:
In central Florida’s deadly tornados February 2, 2007, at least 20 people perished and over 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Little news has circulated regarding animals… SPCA Tampa Bay is one animal org. assisting with pets left homeless and Capt. Ron gives his overview of animals in aftermath of tornadoes…
NOAH’S WISH
Initial Report: February 2, 2007 – 9:30 a.m. / Central Florida Tornado
Noah’s Wish is aware of the tornado, or possibly tornadoes, that touched down in Central Florida early this morning. We have a volunteer near the area helping us gather information. Noah’s Wish has not mobilized and we expect the resources already in place in Florida will be able to handle this emergency. If additional help is needed we will make our services available. Updates posted if additional information becomes available. Report submitted by: Terri Crisp – Noah’s Wish Director of Field Operations
UNITED ANIMAL NATIONS / EARS
www.uan.org/index.cfm?navid=38
Disaster Type: Tornadoes
Response Status: Monitoring
Location: Lake, Volusia, Sumter and Seminole Counties, Florida
Volunteer Needs: None at this time
Supply Needs: None at this time
Last Updated: February 2, 2007
EARS Update: UAN is not currently responding to this situation but EARS leaders are in touch with local agencies to determine their needs.
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1. REPORT: Florida Tornadoes And Animal Relief
SOURCE: Capt. Ron, capron [at] pets911.org
Humane Law Enforcement-Florida
Disaster Response Teams and Computerized Lost/Found records
the Pet Owners Alliance Inc.
www.pets911.org * 1-800-U.S.Stray
*Capt. Ron and the Pet Owners Alliance head the committee for animal rescue for the American Red Cross Disaster Services (VOAD).
Florida VOAD [Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster]
Many of you recognize Capt. Ron from his major contributions to Gulf Coast animal rescue.
2/5/07, from Capt. Ron, capron [at] pets911.org — We are in daily phone contact with all animal control agencies and humane societies in the area. There have been no requests for supplies or assistance of any kind. While there were some strays in the streets, the main problem in the beginning was the dogs still guarding wrecked property and not letting the search and rescue teams in. We are also on the daily VOAD conference calls and no agency has indicated an animal problem. Doesn’t mean there were no problems, it means the agencies in the area were able to handle it.
AP photo / Nancy England, right, comforts Richard Cox Friday, Feb. 2, 2007, after their church, The Lady Lake Church of God, was destroyed by a tornado in Lady Lake, Fla.
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2. SPCA Deployed to Help Tornado’s Four-legged Victims
SOURCE: www.spcafl.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5918
2/2/07, SUMTER COUNTY, FL (February 2, 2007) — Unexpected tornados ripped through Central Florida leaving hundreds of people and pets homeless. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Tampa Bay’s answered the call to help the Humane Society of Sumter County.
“We moved adoptable animals from the Sumter County Humane Society to our facility in Largo where they will be put up for adoption,” Connie Brooks, Director of Operations for the SPCA . “This will leave room for boarding displaced animals until their owners are found.”
The SPCA brought back a total of 30 dogs including a mother dog with four, three-week-old puppies. The young pups will need to be fostered be for they are ready for adoption. The rest will be ready for adoption after they have been checked out medically.
“Sumter County has an amazing Disaster Animal Response Team that has always been there to help us in the face of disaster,” said “Now it is our turn to help them out,” said Brooks.
Owners looking for their lost animals should contact their local shelters for guidance. Micro-chipped animals have a greater chance of being reunited with their respective owners once they are found.
SPCA is in need of monetary donations to support this relief effort.
Checks can be sent to:
SPCA Tampa Bay
9099 130th Avenue North; Largo, FL 33773
ONLINE DONATIONS:
VOLUNTEERING:
www.spcafl.org/site/PageServer?pagename=volunteer_jobs
SPCA is a nonprofit, non-government supported, animal shelter that relies on individual donations to run its facility and disaster relief efforts.
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3. Central FL SPCA Seeks Help For Displaced Animals
SOURCE: www.ohs-spca.org/
TO ALL CENTRAL FLORIDIANS:
The recent tornadoes have devastated parts of our community, and all of us want to help. The SPCA of Central Florida has called the following to offer our assistance: Lake County Animal Services, Volusia County Animal Services, West Volusia Humane Society, Halifax Humane Society, and the local Red Cross. We have offered assistance with both homeless animals and those animals whose families have been displaced. Let’s all offer our prayers for those who have lost their homes…and their lives due to this tragedy of
nature. Barbara Wetzler, President
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4. FL Tornado Recovery Continues
SOURCE: www.disasternews.net/index.php
www.disasternews.net/news/news.php?articleid=3443
AP photo / Marianna Campos, 10, hugs her aunt, Maria Jasso, 47, after her aunt’s home was destroyed by a tornado in Lady Lake, Fla., on Friday, Feb. 2, 2007.
By HEATHER MOYER / DELAND, Fla. (February 4, 2007) — Four Florida counties received a federal disaster declaration for Friday’s deadly tornadoes. The tornadoes killed at least 20 people and damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 homes.
The announcement came Saturday that a Presidential disaster declaration was approved for Lake, Sumter, Volusia and Seminole counties for public, individual and mitigation assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency now has five Disaster Recovery Centers set up for affected residents to utilize.
The National Weather Service said at least three tornadoes with winds of up to 165-miles-per-hour ripped through the four counties in the early morning hours of Friday. The state emergency management division said the hardest hit areas are in Lake and Volusia counties.
More than 1,500 homes in Lake County saw damage, with at least 100 destroyed. The Lake County communities of Lady Lake and Paisley were devastated, with television images showing buildings and mobile homes shredded and scattered over a 20-mile area. A state of emergency is in effect for the four counties and damage assessments are continuing. Volusia County is reporting 700 homes damaged or destroyed, with hundreds of others affected. Sumter County is reporting 400 to 500 homes damaged.
The Volusia County communities of DeLand and New Smyrna Beach were hit hard, with county damage estimates hitting $80 million. Four county schools suffered damage. Minor damages are also reported in Orange, Marion and Indian River counties.
Members of the Florida chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (FLVOAD) are conducting daily conference calls to organize and stay in contact about resources and responses. The members are also meeting in person Sunday to continue the response activities, including distributing information to the public, about the best ways to help the affected residents. The agencies continue to push monetary donations as the best way to help, and that showing up in the affected areas as an unaffiliated volunteer only adds to recovery problems.
AP photo / Katie Walker, left, and her boyfriend’s cousin Chris Willard, 16, both from DeLand, Fla., keep an eye on what’s left of the home of Willard’s grandfather James “Blue” Long at a mobile home park in DeLand on Friday, Feb. 2, 2007. Long was not injured.
Agencies including Florida Baptist Disaster Relief, the Latter Day Saints, Adventist Community Services, Christian Contractors Association, Christian Disaster Response and Compassion Alliance have more than 700 volunteers operating as clean-up crews and donation management crews in the affected areas. FLVOAD agencies are providing supplies such as ice, food, water, tarps and more to affected residents. Church World Service is providing health kits and blankets for distribution as well.
Church denominations are checking in on their local churches and providing assistance as needed. Numerous other agencies are also offering their assistance, including Florida Interfaith Networking in Disasters, Catholic Charities, Church of the Brethren Disaster Child Care, Lutheran Disaster Response, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Nazarene Disaster Services, Operation Blessing, Florida Disciples of Christ, the United Church of Christ and the local United Methodist Church conferences.
AP photo / Damaged homes and debris in Lake County are shown in this aerial photo taken Friday, Feb. 2, 2007, in Lady Lake, Fla., after severe storms moved through the area.
Other agencies such as Convoy of Hope and America’s Second Harvest are providing truckloads of food, and The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross are operating shelters in the affected counties. Several churches are also shelter sites.
One church in Lady Lake was completely demolished by the tornado. The Lady Lake Church of God had been built to withstand 150-mile-per-hour winds, but was reduced to rubble Friday morning. Curfews were in effect across the counties since Friday. Some 1,500 were still without power Sunday morning in Volusia County. Debris continues to keep roads closed and boil water notices are in effect for some areas as well.
Friday’s tornadoes are the second deadliest in Florida’s history, and the worst since 1998, when tornadoes struck the Orlando area and killed 42 people.
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5. FL State Emergency Operations Ctr. Report
SOURCE: Forwarded by Capt. Ron, capron [at] pets911.org
FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE: There is no mention of animal relief efforts in this detailed report of emergency operations in central Florida, however Capt. Ron of VOAD/Pet Owners Alliance, EARS and Noah’s Wish all report animal efforts are underway locally with no call for outside aid at this time. If the situation changes, we will let you know…
The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) is currently at Level 1 (Full) activation with full ESF is staffing in the State Emergency Operations Center. There were several reported Tornado touchdowns in Lake, Sumter, Volusia, Indian River, and Seminole counties. Storms swept across central Florida early Friday morning, damaging homes, toppling trees and overturning trucks on Interstate 4 (I-4).
Powerful winds knocked down trees and power lines. Florida Power is reporting approx 20,000 customers without power and SECO is reporting approx 10,047 customers without power. Unreported fatalities have been reported and many walking wounded. The SERT is working with law enforcement to confirm reports. Damage reports are ongoing and will be reported soon Area of Operations: Lake, Seminole, Volusia, and Sumter counties.
Damage Reported by County
Lake/Sumter County
1500 homes in the vicinity of The Villages w/100 major
or destroyed, 194 vehicles destroyed
Volusia County
700 homes major or destroyed, 300 homes minor
Seminole County
No major damage and only minor injuries
Marion County
No major damage reported
ETC… Report continues with specific State and County Actions…
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6. [Endangered] Crane Survived Florida Storm That Killed 17 Others
SOURCE: click here
2/5/07, By ASSOCIATED PRESS, MILWAUKEE — One young whooping crane survived a Florida storm that killed 17 other cranes, which were led south last fall from Wisconsin by ultralight aircraft, an organizer said Sunday.
Organizers originally thought all 18 birds had perished in the storms that moved in late Thursday. The birds, born last spring, were being kept in a top-netted enclosure at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge near Crystal River. The male was noticed missing Saturday when organizers went in the pen for the birds’ carcasses.
The cranes were fitted with transmitters and organizers got signals from the bird Saturday and Sunday and then saw him with two sandhill cranes in Citrus County, Fla. later Sunday, not far from the enclosure, said Rachel Levin, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s one of the groups involved in the project to create a second migratory flock of the endangered birds in North American.
“We are just so relieved to have found him alive — one small ray of hope for this disaster in the crane project,” Levin said by phone from the Twin Cities. “I think we probably consider him to be a little bit of a miracle bird,” she said.
The surviving crane happens to be the same one that wandered from the flock on their last day of migration in December and was found a few days later. “It’s interesting that it’s the same crane that went off on its own and managed to escape the storm,” Levin said. Organizers will continue to track and monitor the bird, she said. This is about the time in their lives organizers let the cranes explore the area, she said.
At least 20 people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed when three tornadoes hit the area early Friday.
Joe Duff, senior pilot and co-founder of Operation Migration, a nonprofit organization coordinating the project, has said the University of Florida would perform tests soon on the birds to determine how they died. He suspected it could have been from drowning or lightning strikes.
Organizers called the deaths a major setback, but they planned to keep trying to help return the species to its original numbers in eastern North America. For the past six years, whooping cranes hatched in captivity have been raised at the Necedah refuge by workers who wear crane-like costumes to keep the birds wary of humans. Ultralight aircraft are used to teach new groups of young cranes the migration route to Florida. From then on, the birds migrate north in the spring and south in the fall on their own.
In another milestone reached in 2006, a pair of the whooping cranes produced offspring in the wild. One of the two chicks survived and migrated with the parents to Florida. The whooping crane, the tallest bird in North America, was near extinction in 1941, with only about 20 left. The other wild whooping crane flock in North America has about 200 birds and migrates from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. A non-migratory flock in Florida has about 60 birds.
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7. Florida Animal Disaster Response Resources
AREAS IN PATH OF TORNADOES & NEARBY
HUMANE SOCIETY/SPCA OF SUMTER COUNTY
www.humanesocietyspcaofsumtercounty.com/
P.O. Box 67; Lake Panasoffkee, Florida 33538
352-793-9117; Humane [at] sum.net
WEST VOLUSIA HUMANE SOCIETY
800 Humane Society Road; DeLand, FL 32720
386-734-2450; info [at] wvhumanesociety.com
VOLUSIA COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES
www.volusia.org/animalcontrol/
29 Keyton Dr.; Daytona Beach, FL 32124
(West Volusia) 386-740-5241
Director Becky Wilson: bwilson [at] co.volusia.fl.us
SEMINOLE COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY-SPCA
SPCA of Central Florida – Seminole County
2800 County Home Road; Sanford, Florida 32773
407-323-8685
LAKE COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES
http://www.lakegovernment.com/
28123 CR 561; Tavares, FL 32778
352-343-9688
HALIFAX HUMANE SOCIETY
2364 W. LPGA Boulevard; Daytona Beach, FL. 32120
386-274-4703
HUMANE SOCIETY OF MARION COUNTY
701 NW 14th Road, Ocala, FL
352-873-PETS; shelter [at] humanesocietyofmarioncounty.com
FLORIDA ANIMAL SHELTERS
www.netpets.com/cats/catresc/florida.html
FLORIDA RESOURCES
FLORIDA DISASTER ANIMAL RESPONSE TEAM
Pam Burns, pamburns [at] tampabay.rr.com
2840 W. Bay Drive #150; Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770
Connie Brooks, Bay Area DART Chair, connie [at] spcatampabay.org
9099 130th Avenue North; Largo, FL 33773
SPCA TAMPA BAY
9099 130th Avenue North; Largo, FL 33773
Info on volunteering:
www.spcafl.org/site/PageServer?pagename=volunteer_jobs
PETS 911 / DISASTER EMERGENCY
www.pets911.org/emergency/index.html
FLORIDA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
FLORIDA STATE AGRICULTURAL RESPONSE TEAM (Florida SART)
PET TRAVEL RESOURCE (HOTELS)
MORE FLORIDA LINKS:
NORTH FLORIDA HORSE RESCUE
A New Equine Non-profit Disaster Assistance Organization Serving the North Florida and Surrounding Areas.
northfloridahorserescue.com/nfhr/
FIND OUT IF YOUR STATE HAS AN ANIMAL DISASTER RELIEF PLAN
www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/animal-disaster-plans/
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—–Original Message—–
From: Kinship Circle
Sent: Monday, April 03, 2006 11:34 AM
To: 7. KINSHIP CIRLE Animal Disaster Relief List
Subject: [GULF COAST] Volunteers Still Needed in New Orleans
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Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Relief reports Gulf Coast needs, news, missing/found animal reports, etc. There are still many animals roaming sparsely populated areas… We also report needs/news for animals in other disasters as they unfold, i.e. central Florida tornadoes, Northeast (USA) floods, Middle East crisis and other war zones, Kentucky pound flood… Thank you for your commitment to forgotten victims in disasters.
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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle brenda shoss natural disasters disaster relief Florida tornado Noah’s Wish dog canine cat feline pet companion animal animal rescue AP Associated Press bird central florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals SPCA Sumter County Lake County Volusia County Seminole County Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster FLVOAD crane endangered
April 16th, 2007 at 11:31 am
State probe forces animal-rescue nonprofit to close
Queries $8M raised in wake of Katrina
Sacramento Business Journal – March 30, 2007
by Kelly Johnson
Staff Writer
A local animal-rescue nonprofit that gained national attention for its work after Hurricane Katrina, sparking more than $8 million in donations, was shutting down this month amid a state investigation into how it used that money.
Noah’s Wish, which rescues and cares for animals in disasters, was preparing this week to close its El Dorado Hills headquarters. About a dozen workers have resigned or been laid off since late last year.
The California Attorney General’s Office has been investigating the organization since last summer, examining how Noah’s Wish used donations that might have been designated for relief efforts in the hurricane-ravaged area. The probe led to most of the nonprofit’s funds being set aside in accounts where they couldn’t be used for other operations.
The nonprofit contends the funds were used properly and said it is cooperating with investigators.
The group received millions in donations after news stories showed its efforts in an area devastated by the August 2005 hurricane. Former Noah’s Wish insiders allege those millions were intended to relieve suffering in the storm-battered zone but were improperly used for other purposes.
According to documents obtained by the Business Journal from a former employee, an accounting firm hired by Noah’s Wish to examine its books concluded that it would be impossible to conduct a reliable audit because so many records were missing from the period when the group and its volunteers were working on the ravaged Gulf Coast .
Documents filed by the nonprofit or provided by the former employee indicated Noah’s Wish had about $210,000 in revenue in the year ended June 30, 2005, and almost 40 times that much — $8.4 million — in the next six months.
Expenses shot upward, too, from about $212,000 in 2004-2005 to more than $2 million in the last six months of 2005, including almost $400,000 to purchase vehicles. In early 2006, the group bought a storage building in East Alton , Ill. , for $65,125 and leased office space in New York City , according to documents provided by the former employee.
Terri Crisp, founder of the group and its executive director until this week, was paid $6,200 in 2004-2005, tax records show. The documents supplied by the former employee covering July through December 2005 indicated Crisp received compensation of almost $141,000.
The nonprofit’s board this week acknowledged the investigation on the group’s Web site. “The California Attorney General has taken the position that certain funds donated to Noah’s Wish during this period (of Katrina), and its immediate aftermath, are restricted and may only be used for the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina, rather than the animal victims of other disasters or for general disaster preparedness,” a letter posted online said. “Noah’s Wish disagrees … but is working cooperatively with the Attorney General toward a timely resolution of the dispute.”
Noah’s Wish has agreed not to use the disputed funds while the investigation is pending, and the nonprofit cannot continue its work without access to the money, the letter said.
A spokesman for the state’s top lawyer would not confirm or deny an investigation.
Ralph Nevis of Downey Brand Attorneys LLP in Sacramento , who represents the group, would not discuss the nature of the inquiry.
Founder was asked to leave board
Staff members are being paid through April 11, but this week only the office manager remained at the El Dorado Hills headquarters to close things down over the next couple of weeks.
At one point, the nonprofit had 15 employees working at offices in El Dorado Hills and New York City and from homes in other states. The three-person office in New York closed in January.
“They’ve reduced the staff because of funding. It’s everybody,” Crisp said Wednesday. She said she’s taking her remaining days as sick leave, but by Wednesday evening a message on the group’s Web site said she was no longer connected with Noah’s Wish.
Crisp also served on the organization’s board of directors from its founding in 2002 until February. She’s no longer on the board, she said, “partly because it’s a conflict of interest.” The Attorney General’s office “had asked for me not to remain on the board.”
Because she’s no longer on the board, Crisp said she did not have the latest information on the investigation or details about what it covers. Investigators, she said, have not interviewed her and were working only through the nonprofit’s attorney and its board chair, Amy Maher.
Maher did not return calls Wednesday. Board members Lyn Kendrick, Gail Monick and David Lesser declined to comment on the investigation; another, Heather Hathaway, did not respond to a request for an interview.
Asked about allegations that the nonprofit inappropriately used money, Crisp said, “I don’t know of any misuse of funds.”
Lori Polk, chair of the Noah’s Wish board during Katrina, left it the month after the hurricane. Before and after Katrina, she said, she voiced concerns about “the organization and the allocations of the donations we were collecting.” She said she felt she was “fighting a losing battle trying to maintain my fiduciary responsibility to the organization.”
The group “did not make decisions based upon board approval,” she said, and made “expenditures without approval.”
The former employee, who would only speak on condition of anonymity, said that “the amount of money that was spent by the organization was unbelievable.”
The Attorney General’s authority over charities includes investigating the loss of substantial funds during one year, illegal use of funds, diversion of funds from their intended purpose and excessive amounts paid for salaries, benefits, travel, entertainment, legal and other professional fees, according to the agency’s Web site.
Raising money last month
Noah’s Wish was soliciting funds as recently as February. In a letter to potential donors, Crisp wrote the nonprofit had “made a concerted effort to only ask for donations when the need truly exists, and not become a pest with repeated appeals.”
Later, the letter said, “So why am I contacting you now? Noah’s Wish is prepared for the next disaster, but lately this has become increasingly challenging.” Because 2006 was a “fairly uneventful year,” Crisp wrote, donations declined significantly.
Tax documents for Noah’s Wish obtained by the Business Journal reported revenue of $8.4 million, almost all of it from contributions, between July 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2005. Some $4.8 million was in unrestricted assets and $1.5 million in temporarily restricted assets at the end of that year, financial documents indicate.
In June 2006, the accounting firm engaged to audit the books wrote the board that it could not express an opinion on the 2005 financial statements, according to documents provided by the former employee.
“A significant portion of corroborating evidence such as vendor invoices, receipts, deposit slips and other supporting data were not maintained during the period that the organization was responding to the needs of animals during Hurricane Katrina. The records that remain are not sufficient to permit the application of auditing procedures that would be adequate for us to express an opinion on the accompanying financial statements,” according to the letter from John Waddell & Co. CPAs.
For the second half of 2005, Noah’s Wish paid $405,948 in salaries and compensation, according to the Form 990 supplied by the former employee. Of that, Crisp received $140,900, while the second-highest compensation went to Sheri Thompson at $118,125, the tax documents show.
If the numbers are correct, it appears the compensation for Crisp and Thompson is well above the norm for nonprofits of this size, said Ann Lucas, executive director of the Nonprofit Resource Center. The annual median base salary for the executive director of a nonprofit of this size is $130,000, according to the 2006 Compensation and Benefits Survey of Northern California Nonprofit Organizations, which is produced by the Center for Nonprofit Management in Los Angeles .
Noah’s Wish committed $1 million to the city of Slidell , La. for construction of a new animal control center; the old one was severely damaged by Katrina.