Emergency Assistance/Search &
Rescue
U.S. Coast Guard Search & Rescue
Texas Department of Public Safety Contacts
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TIP: If the local web site is not available try
the cached copy saved at Google
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Louisiana State Police:
- (225) 922-0325
- (225) 922-0332
- (225) 922-0333
- (225)
922-0334
- (225)
922-0335
- (225) 922-0341
- (225) 925-7398
Road Closures
Texas Department of Public Safety
Road Closure Hotline: 1-800-452-9292.
Louisiana State Police
Road Closure Hotline:
Online or
1-800-469-4828
FEMA Maps of
Flooded Areas
and Closed Roads
Red Cross Information Line for public safety and road closures
1-866-GET-INFO.
Offender Registries & Contacts
Probation or parole offenders living in Texas from states
affected by the
disaster should check in at Texas Parole Division Command 1-866-680-6667
immediately.
Locate Juvenile Inmates in Louisiana 225-287-7988,7955, and
7900.
Alabama Sexual
Offenders
Registry
Florida
Sexual Offenders Registry
Louisiana Sexual Offenders
Registry
Mississippi Sexual Offenders
Registry
Texas
Sexual Offenders
Registry.
Finding Friends and Relatives
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TIP: Text Messaging
May Work even when cell
phones will not connect.
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Military Relief Information
Find Housing
Transportation Help
- List
of many, many options for survivors, medically needy individuals,
and others needing transportation assistance following the disaster.
Shelters
Shelter Information:
Red Cross-
1(866)-GET-INFO
(438-4636)
FEMA Shelter Hotline (888) 312-4567
Shelters in
Houston. For more
information regarding shelters in Houston dial 1-888-312-4567.
Donate
Money is still considered the best donation as it is easy
to move to the disaster
zone where there are still shortages of gas, transportation, and people to
sort and tag items. If
you do send supplies, be sure the box clearly labels what is inside. It
is also best to sort items
of a single type in the same box rather than mix up different kinds of
items together. Most places
will no longer accept clothing (with some specific needs excepted).
Volunteer
Texas and Louisiana Status Updates by
Parish/County
News, Live Streaming and Video
Current Weather Forecast
Animal Rescues & Adoptions
Pets with Microchips
Owners should call any of the following microchip companies if
you have lost your pet.
- AVID MICROCHIP ID (THEY ALSO OWN PET NET MICROCHIP COMPANY) CALL
800 336-2843
- HOME AGAIN MICROCHIP RECOVERY CALL 866-738-4324
- VET-LINK.COM MICROCHIP 800-838-8563
Louisiana Animal Rescue Telephone Contacts
SPCA of New Orleans area: Laura 434-589-1499
Northwest
Louisiana Humane Soc. Nancy 318-219-7387504-366-8972
Humane Society of
Monroe Danine
318-387-9553
Humane Society of Central Louisiana 318-641-0458
Caddo Commission
Animal Svcs. Anita Mills 318-222-6624
Lafayette Parish Animal Control
337-291-5644
Noah's Wish Foundation Teri/Roger 530-622-9313
NW Louisiana Chapter
Red Cross Michelle
Davidson 318-865-9545
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Medical Volunteers:
The HHS Medical Volunteer Line
1-866-528-6334 has been turned
off because of the overwhelming response by more than 33,000 medically
trained volunteers. See: volunteer.hhs.gov for more
information.
NOTE: You may want to consider contacting some of the other
resources listed below.
The Red Cross suggests two options: 1) Agencies and
organizations supporting
first responders and hospitals or 2) work with the Red Cross
which requires
a 1-2 day training before dispatching.
The Red Cross is seeking specialists trained in several areas including
congregate living, health care and financial assistance. In addition the
Red Cross is expanding its volunteer response force.
Local State Health Departments in many states are signing
up medical volunteers. Check with your state's HHS or EMS office.
Texas Medical Volunteer Contacts
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Medical Volunteer Waivers
For medical volunteers working in the areas under declarations of
emergency HHS has waivers in
place to:
- Eliminate many conditions of participation and certification for
Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP.
- Allow licensed physicians and other licensed health care providers
from other states to
receive federal reimbursment in the disaster zone.
- Allow Medicare enrollees to receive out-of-network services
- Waive HIPAA privacy regulation sanctions and penalties.
More information is available at the American
Medical Association web site
for medical responders including state licensing help.
Contacts
and
Information for temporary medical licensing in Texas.
CDC
Recommendations for
Immunizations are available online for those working in the affected
areas.
Alcoholics Anonymous
AA
Groups are available to provide support to anyone who needs it.
Environmental Hazards
EPA is asking for reports of all spills of hazardous
chemicals, including oil spills and other environmental hazards. Call
800-424-8802 or
202-267-2675.
Translation Language Help
Emergency Medication Refills
Emergency Medications Refills Texas and some other states will
allow a
pharmacist to refill prescriptions in an emergency even if the prescribing
physician can't
be reached. Schedule II controlled substances are generally excluded from
this provision.
See Texas State
Board of
Pharmacy.
Louisiana Board of Pharmacy announced Friday that evacuees can
go to any
Wal-Mart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreen's or Kroger's pharmacy in Louisiana or
around the
country to have their prescriptions filled.
NEW: HHS has a new web site for authorized doctors and
pharmacists to look up electronic prescription information for survivors,
including dosages at www.katrinahealth.org.
Information was provided by: AMA, Gold Standard, the Markle Foundation,
RxHub, SureScripts, and the Louisiana and Mississippi Departments of
Health.
Crisis Hotline
National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
United Healthcare Crisis Hotline at 1-866-615-8700.
Callers can speak with counselors to help them handle the difficult
emotions they may
experience such as stress, anxiety and the grieving process.
National
Mental Health Services Locator
Rape Crisis and Domestic Violence Hotlines Call RAINN -
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
or the Domestic Violence National Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Dialysis Hotline
The
National Kidney Foundation has emergency contact numbers for any
dialysis patients in need of help.
Hospital and Nursing Home Patients
Texas is evacuating hospital and nursing home patients from
areas near the coast. See Local News
Updates for more information.
Social Security Payments
Social Security beneficiaries in the disaster zone can go to any
office of the federal agency or any temporary location and receive an
on-the-spot payment. See the Social Security Web Site
for more information. Some Social Security offices will be open through
the weekend. Call call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) for more
information.
Services and Help
Legal
US Legal
Forms has a
page with information on replacing Social Security cards, Passports, Birth
Certificates
and other legal documents.
Order Birth Certificates
Online through
VitalChek.com
The American Bar Association is setting up hotlines to assist
people with
insurance claims, home repair contracts, wills and other documents, and
related issues.
See: abanet.org for more
information.
Houston Volunteer Lawyer's Program will have volunteer lawyers
available to assist. See hba.org for
more information.
Dallas Legal Aid will be assisting people in that area. The
Dallas Bar will waive it's initial consultation fee for referrals for
legal advice.
The New York State Bar Association fund will help victims in
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama pay for such services as filing
insurance claims, getting death certificates completed and applying for
federal aid. American Bar Association is recruiting lawyers to
help man a phone bank and assist people with issues related to the
disaster. Contact Beth Ragan 312.988.6142 for more information.
Business Help
Call the SBA at 1-800-659-2955 or email [email protected]
for status updates
on SBA disaster loan requests. Visit the SBA
Website for more information.
Small Business Administration (SBA) has
assistance for business owners affected by the hurricane. See sba.gov.
SEC is providing filing extensions and other relief to
businesses affected by the
Hurricane.
Homeland Security Immigration Enforcement will not sanction
employers for hiring victims of the hurricane who, at this time, are
unable to provide I-9 documentation. DHS will not bring sanction actions
against employers for hiring individuals evacuated or displaced as a
result of Hurricane Katrina otherwise eligible for employment but who
currently lack personal documents.
Unemployment Benefits
Department of Labor Unemployment Hotline is 1-866-4-USA-DOL
(1-866-487-2365) or online at
dol.gov.
FEMA Hotline Number for Unemployment Benefits is
1-800-621-FEMA or TTY: 1-800-462-7585 or call your local unemployment
office.
For Louisiana, people can apply for unemployment insurance and disaster
relief at any
one-stop job center, online at laworks.net
or by calling toll-free numbers 1-866-783-5567 or 1-800-818-7811.
The Texas Workforce Commission is assisting workers who have
lost their jobs
due to Hurricane Katrina. They can apply for Disaster Unemployment
Assistance (DUA) by
calling 1-800-818-7811 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Employers
wishing to hire displaced workers can call 1-800-695-6879 from
8:00 a.m. to 6:00
p.m., Monday through Friday.
Job Search Help
Food Stamps
The Department of Agriculture will allow people who normally do not
qualify for Food Stamps to receive food stamps if they fled
storm-damaged areas of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Normally, the Agriculture Department requires food stamp recipients to
requalify for the benefit if they move to another state.
Louisiana has a hotline where you
can apply for Food Stamp assistance.
Workers Compensation
Louisiana injured workers who were getting workers' compensation
before the hurricane should call 1-866-783-5567, 1-800-201-2494 or
1-800-201-3457 to update contact information.
Taxes and IRS
IRS Disaster Tax Relief information and disaster loss kits.
Available online
The IRS has extended deadlines until Oct. 31 to file tax returns and
submit tax payments.
The extension includes the Sept. 15 deadline for estimated taxes for
businesses and individuals affected by the Hurricane.
Community Voice Mail
Community Voice Mail will be providing free voice mail boxes to
Hurricane victims displaced in: Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, Memphis
and Atlanta. Contact the Red Cross at 1-800-GET INFO for more
information. Consider a
donation if you are able to support this service.
Banking and Mortgages
If You Are Unable to Pay Your Mortgage call your mortgage lender
and notify them as quickly as possible. Many banks and mortgage companies
will accept arrangements to delay payments three months or more during a
disaster. Visit the
FDIC Web Site for more information about banking help or call
1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).
Low-income residents in the affected areas who have mortgages
through USDA are being notified of a 90-day minimum moratorium on payments
to reduce the financial hardship.
The FDIC has published a list of contacts for
banks that were in the affected area. You can also call the FDIC
hotline for banking questions at 1-877-ASK-FDIC.
The SEC has published a web site for those unable to contact
their investment advisors. See www.sec.gov/
Reverse Voice Mail Reverse Voice Mail
OmVox
Telecom and Window Canvas, both of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, have created a
new toll-free communications service, allowing family members displaced by
the hurricane communicate with one another via "reverse voice mail."
Storm victims can call 1-877-206-7500, enter a 10-digit telephone number
such as their home, office, or cell number, and leave a 3-minute voicemail
message, letting others know of their whereabouts and safety. Family
members can call 1-877-206-7500, enter the 10-digit telephone number of
their loved one and listen to any messages left by missing family members.
If the line is busy, keep trying.
School Information
Resources
Guide for Teachers and Parents after a disaster.
Assistance for
School Supplies
Texas Hotline for teachers seeking jobs is 1-800-435-7090.
Florida is waiving the cost of the teacher certification exam.
Teachers who fulfilled similar certification requirements in other states
are welcome to teach in Florida.
Arkansas Department of Education has streamlined its teacher
application process for certified teachers from Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Alabama who have relocated to Arkansas. Call Ron Tolson at
501-682-4210 for information.
Georgia Tutoring
has positions available for displaced teachers.
Colleges
- New legislation allows the Secretary of Education to provide a
waiver for repaying Pell Grant funds if those students are forced
to withdraw due to natural disaster as declared by the president. The
legislation relates only to the semesters affected by the natural
disaster.
- Google
Search of Colleges Accepting Students
- Cross Cultural Solutions, a partner with Care International, is
offering a $700 scholarship for students displaced by the hurricane who
are interested in participating with their international volunteer or
intern abroad programs. See: crossculturalsolutions.org
for more information.
- AAMC has
resources to
assist displaced medical students and residents including assistance with
contact information, student records, and loans.
| Federal, State, and Local
Agencies
Disaster Recovery
Centers
Before visiting a Recovery Center, try calling 1-800-621-FEMA
(3362) or 1
800-462-7585 (TTY) available 24 hours per day. Multilingual operators are
available. You can also apply for assistance online at
www.fema.gov
Disaster
Recovery Center Locations
National
Emergency Resource Registry If you or your organization,
agency, or corporation
have resources that may be made available to the response agencies please list them here.
High Priority Needs
- Housing
- Transportation
- Emergency Supplies
National Institute of Governmental Purchasing Needs and Help bulletin
board to coordinate
professional assistance. Or call 1(800) FOR-NIGP
- Louisiana State Services Hotline
1-888-524-3578.
Open 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Can assist with Disaster Food Stamps, Medicaid,
Wic, Mental Health Counselling, Addictive Disorders, Developmental
Disorders, Social Security Benefits, Social Security Disability Benefits,
Child Support, Foster Care, DHH State Supplement Checks, Louisiana
Rehabilitation Services, and Disaster Unemployement Benefits.
FirstGov
Hurricane Recovery Resources
- Federal Web Site with
links for finding loved ones, getting help, and other information.
FEMA: Save Your Receipts
A FEMA Official has said: If you were hit with any sort of
disaster-related loss, you qualify for federal assistance. If you had to
spend a night in a hotel, FEMA will cover it. Save your receipts, keep
track of everything you've bought. SOURCE: WWL-TV NEWS
National Response Center
- 1-800-424-8802
- 1-202-267-2675
State Emergency Management Agencies
- Local Emergency Management Contacts
Mail Forwarding
1-800-ASK-USPS. Or online at USPS.com.
Federal Employees
Federal
Employees can go to the OPM site to find out more about federal
retiree benefits, donations of leave, and other relief information. An
information hotline is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. M-F CST at
1-800-307-8298.
Insurance
Insurance
Company
Hotlines
Louisiana Department of Insurance available for help
1-800-259-5300 or Online
Alabama Department of Insurance
(800) 433-3966
(334)
241-4141
Louisiana Department of Insurance
(800) 259-5300
(225)
342-5900
Mississippi Department of Insurance
(800) 562-2957
(601)
359-2453
Texas Department of Insurance
(800) 252-3439
(800)
578-4677
Georgia Department of Insurance
(800) 656-2298
(404)
656-2056
Florida Department of Insurance
(800) 882-3054
(850)
413-3131
(800)
342-2762 - (FL Only)
Tennessee Department of Insurance
(800) 342-4029
(615)
741-2241
Arkansas Department of Insurance
(800) 282-9134
(501)
371-2600
Insurance Company Contact Information
AIG: (800)
242-2418
Allstate:
(800) 547-8676
Chubb Group of Insurance Companies: (800) 252-4670
CAN: Personal
Insurance Policyholders: (800) 588-7400; Commercial Insurance
Policyholders: (877)
262-2727
The Hartford: (800) 243-5860
Metlife Auto & Home: (800)
854-6011
SAFECO: (800) 332-3226
Selective
Insurance: (800) 777-9656 ext. 2801;
fax: (973)
948-1103 State Farm: (800) 732-5246
Travelers Property/Casualty:
Personal Insurance
Policyholders: (800) 252-4633; Commercial Insurance Policyholder:
800-238-6225
USAA:
(800) 531-8222
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