Header picture of Randall Norris, his book Women of Coal, and a picture of Highway 61 sign

Disaster Relief

Hurrican Andrew Pictures

In August, 1992, after Hurricane Andrew devastated south Florida, communities from all over the United States loaded Ryder and U Haul rental trucks with disaster relief supplies, then pointed them in the direction of Miami, Florida. My community, Crossville, Tennessee, loaded a truck withWater, medicine and disposable baby diapers. Ronnie Hill and I volunteeredto drive the truck. Eighteen hours later we arrived at the Florida State Fairgrounds, where an entire shift of workers from Pratt and Whitney was offloading trucks as fast as they could be pulled in and out of the building. When they discovered the contents of our load, we were placed at the head of the first National Guard convoy which was scheduled to stop at the Krome Avenue disaster relief center. As you look at the pictures that catalogue the Andrew's damage, rest assured the absolute devastation we saw couldnever be captured in a picture. We arrived on Friday afternoon, severaldays after Andrew struck, and many people were still living beneath therubble you see in the pictures, afraid to come into the open. After we arrived at the Krome Avenue center, we handed out water, juice, medicine and diapers. People cried openly when we gave them just a few items. They only had the shirts on their backs, and some of them didn't even have shirts. This was without a doubt the most rewarding experience of my life. Consequently, in order to help the students at Sauk Valley Community College share this feeling, Jim Wright and I are co-sponsoring the Disaster Relief Club. The goal of the club will be to provide willing hands to help clean up after a tornado, fill sandbags during a flood, or serve coffee, water, and hot dogs to relief workers. Most trips will occur during a quick in and out seventy-two hour period, within a six hour drive of the school. I'm looking forward to our first trip!
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