By Loren Drummond
Hurricane Dennis, which unleashed winds as heavy as 150 mph and flooded stretches along the Florida panhandle and Gulf Coast early this week, marked an early opening to a potentially brutal hurricane season. With Hurricane Emily, a Category 4 storm, arriving on the heels of Dennis and currently heading toward the coast of Texas, people and animals in all of these storm-battered areas appear unlikely to get a reprieve after last season's vicious series of storms.
While these weather-weary residents may not have a friend in Mother Nature, they do have an ally with Diane Webber and the rest of The HSUS Disaster Animal Response Team. Webber directed the DART Team after Dennis, and she says that the response to animal welfare needs this year improved over last year's response during hurricane season, when Hurricanes Charley, Ivan and Frances wreaked havoc along the Gulf Coast and Florida.
"After Hurricane Charley, countless people were left homeless," said Webber. "Public shelters weren't accepting animals, so those with pets had difficulty finding housing. People were left with no choice but to leave their pets behind at the temporary animal care facility we set up in Punta Gorda, where we took in hundreds of found animals, as well as those pets surrendered by displaced owners. It was those voluntary surrenders—made by owners who knew they would have no way to shelter or care for their beloved pet for a long time—that were the hardest."
While Dennis didn't match the intensity of either Charley or Ivan—the latter storm hit roughly the same region as Dennis—Webber noted that the people were better prepared for the latest storm, which caused an estimated $1 billion in damage in the Gulf Coast. "There were more 'animal friendly' evacuation shelters available to the public—definitely a result of last season's public awareness and training."
Response and Relief
The HSUS Disaster Services closely monitors natural disasters across the United States and internationally. Nearing its 20th year in operation, Disaster Services responds to tornadoes, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes like Dennis and Emily with staff from nine regional offices and a full-time response team. The program recently expanded its reach to the international arena when it, along with veterinarians from our Rural Area Veterinary Services program, provided essential relief for animals and people devastated by the South Asia tsunami in January.
As Hurricane Dennis churned in the Caribbean last week, DART members mobilized and went to work identifying and preparing for potential relief needs such as food, rescue teams, and sheltering locations. They also tapped established partnerships that foster coordination between animal protection organizations, disaster relief agencies, and state and local governments.
In the week before Dennis hit the Gulf Coast, The HSUS Southwest Regional Office began working with the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA) to help design and coordinate evacuation plans that would ensure the safety of animals being held for adoption in shelters that were in the hurricane's path.
Two-hundred and fifty cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies were picked up from Louisiana and Mississippi shelters. The majority of the animals were transported in climate-controlled trailers to Houston. On Saturday, July 9, the day before Dennis hit the coast, all rescued animals were placed with 14 adoption agencies and rescue groups in the Dallas area. The HSUS team helped coordinate these evacuations and animal transfers while acting as an information and communication liaison.
The disaster team also hauled its newest resource into action in Florida: a mobile unit that will stay in the Southeast throughout hurricane season, and then move in the field as needed. The HSUS disaster truck trailer not only sleeps seven responders—so important when lodgings are nearly impossible to secure after a natural disaster—but also includes rescue equipment, animal control equipment, crates, medical and office supplies, and a cargo bay. The trailer can function as a mobile command post, medical suite, housing for responders, and temporary housing for animals.
Challenges to Pet Safety
Though they are now monitored much more closely than in the past, hurricanes can still increase in force or change path at any time. Because of a storm's unpredictability and the last-minute nature of some evacuations, getting pets to shelters can often be a challenge. It may not be clear to pet owners if they should take their animals with them when the evacuation order comes.
"If you evacuate, take your pets with you. If you are ordered to evacuate, there is a reason. If it isn't safe for you, it isn't safe for your pet," says Lauren Bond, disaster response program coordinator with The HSUS who traveled to Florida to respond to Hurricane Dennis.
Even after people evacuate with their pets, finding welcome housing may not be easy. The Red Cross does not generally allow pets in its shelters. That's where animal advocates and The HSUS DART team step in.
"We work closely with the Red Cross to arrange for local (animal sheltering close to the human shelter) or co-location (pets in one half of the building, people in another) sheltering when 'animal-friendly' isn't available," says Bond.
During last year's hurricanes in Florida, these types of cooperative arrangements with Sunshine State shelters allowed hundreds of residents to temporarily foster their pets while they put their lives—and homes—back together. When people lose everything else after a storm—their house, their possessions, maybe even family members—many find it a true comfort to keep their pets with them. These emergency animal shelters provide that comfort, and The HSUS will continue to work with the sheltering community to create these housing arrangements during this hurricane season.
Lessons Learned—Education and Preparation
The communities that annually find themselves in the paths of natural disasters have begun to understand the importance of disaster planning for animals, both before and after the storm.
"Last year's storms were so devastating and widespread that very few people in Florida were left untouched by them either directly or indirectly," says Webber. "As a result, more attention was given to training and mitigation, including the recognition that animals must be considered in disaster planning."
Disaster response experts say preparation and planning is essential for preventing loss of life during major disasters. Here are five essential actions pet-owners should take:
- Create a plan before you need it.
- Know where you can go with your pet, be it a relative's house or a animal-friendly hotel.
- Prepare a disaster kit for your pet; include enough food, water, and medication for at least three days.
- Keep your disaster kit together and ready to go in the event that you should need it.
- Have a photo of your pet, and copies of any medical records that you may need.
According to Webber, this kind of preparation has already paid off in Florida's and the Gulf Coast's early season rounds with Mother Nature.
"This year, animals were not left behind during evacuation. Shelters located in the storm's path were evacuating adoptable animals out well in advance of the storm, so fewer animals required rescuing. Shelters that had weathered the storm then had space and staff available to help any displaced animals."
Disasters—natural and otherwise—remain a fact of life for every community across the globe. Their unpredictability tears at the fabric of human life and strains the human-animal bond by taking lives, destroying homes, devastating economies, and leaving essentials in short supply. When disasters strike, animals and pets are the most at risk; they are most likely to be lost or left behind. But when disasters strike, these tragic events also reveal the true value of animals in our lives.
If you wish to support our life-saving disaster work, please donate to The Disaster Relief Fund.
For more information about disaster preparedness for all animals, including livestock and horses, as well as for breaking news of our disaster response work, visit our Disaster Center.
Loren Drummond is the Associate Editor of hsus.org.
