Above, OBI's crane, skid steer, construction trailer and other equipment leaves Ocala, Fla. for a staging site at The Salvation Army Corps office in Hattiesburg, Miss.

NEW ORLEANS - In preparation for Hurricane Gustav, Operation Blessing's disaster relief specialists are en route to staging areas in Mississippi and Baton Rouge.

"We are moving forward with our 72 hour response plan and will continue to monitor the storm,” said Jody Herrington, OBI's director of U.S. disaster relief. "Additional staff is also on standby to aid in the relief process.”

Teaming up with the Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, La.,, OBI is using the facility to stockpile emergency relief supplies and serve as a point of distribution for aid as well as a place to house volunteers.

Already, a Hunger Strike Force tractor-trailer truck filled with supplies has arrived on-scene, including tarps for 150 homes and food for approximately 1,000 meals.

"If the storm proceeds on its projected track, we will begin to move equipment to safe-areas near where the impact is expected to be the most significant,” Herrington said. "Whether it's New Orleans or anywhere in the region, our intent is to stage resources on nearby high ground so we can respond within hours of the storm."

Above, destruction from Hurricane Katrina. OBI spent more than two years in the region helping rebuilding efforts.

The Gulf Coast is a familiar place for OBI workers. Teams spent more than two-and-a-half-years in the region for post-Katrina relief efforts. During that time, OBI provided $60 million in relief that included 265,000 hours of volunteer service and operating a free medical clinic.

Other efforts post-Katrina includes helping the city fight potential deadly diseases by treating thousands of stagnant swimming pools with mosquito-eating fish. In addition, OBI helped prepare more than 1 million free meals for emergency responders and volunteers; donated an entire fleet of busses to St. Bernard Parish for transportation of relief workers and volunteers; and providing roughly $5 million in cash grants to local nonprofit organizations' relief efforts.

"Two and a half years of experience in helping the people of Louisiana pick up the pieces of their lives following Katrina have prepared OBI to answer the call should Gustav hit the Gulf Coast,” said Bill Horan, president of OBI.

Already Hurricane Gustav is wreaking havoc in the Gulf. Residents are being evacuated in Cuba, The Cayman Islands, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Meteorologists say Gustav could make landfall by Labor Day anywhere from south Texas to the Florida panhandle, and hurricane experts say everyone in between should be prepared.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

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