The US Southern Command has a website dedicated to the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti, where a number of hurricanes including Ike have left havoc in their wake.

LINK

The USS Kearsarge was diverted from its mission as part of Operation Continuing Promise 08 and has been doing extraordinary work in Haiti. As discussed here in the past, this class of vessel is uniquely suited to humanitarian aid missions.

The amphibious ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) is in Haiti supporting disaster relief operations following a string of storms that have killed hundreds of Haitians and imperiled thousands of others. U.S. Southern Command directed U.S. Fourth Fleet to divert the ship, which was in Colombia as part of a humanitarian assistance deployment. Currently, helicopters and landing craft from Kearsarge are delivering aid to hard hit areas.

A U.S. flag flies, covered in mud and debris, in front of the Cameron, La., court house Sept. 15. The flag was rescued by members of the Louisiana Army National Guard’s 528th Engineer Battalion who were performing cleanup operations in the city. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)

Here is a table that I worked up to show the FEMA stats for Hurricane Ike from today’s situation report. That report is linked at the bottom. You will want to check it out for additional details.

FEMA National Situation Update: Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Louisiana Army National Guardsmen from the 2225th Multi-Role Bridge Company in Marrero, La., bring residents of Hackberry, La., to dry land after the small town in the southwest portion of the state received massive flooding caused by Hurricane Ike. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Angela K. Fry, 528th Engineer Battalion

Taking people to safe, dry places became one of the main missions for National Guard troops after Hurricane Ike rampaged through Texas and Louisiana.

Guard members had rescued nearly 2,000 people in Texas, the hardest-hit state, by today, and had rescued or evacuated another 343 in Louisiana, the states reported.

“We’re proud of the work our troops are doing out there,” said Army Lt. Col. James Waskom, deputy commander of Louisiana’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. “But we’ve got to keep our heads in the game, because there is lots of work still out there to do.”

Texas Guard members used ground, water and air assets to help people stranded by the hurricane.

Texas troops had rescued 1,554 people with ground vehicles and boats and had rescued another 394 people with helicopters by midday today, Kristine Munn, a spokeswoman for the National Guard Bureau, reported. Furthermore, they had assisted 639 people who were not evacuated and had assessed the damage to about 500 buildings.

“The No. 1 mission is search and rescue, second is damage assessment, and third is setting up points of distribution,” Army Maj. Gen Charles Rodriguez, the Texas adjutant general, said before the storm struck. That is how it all worked out in both states.

Louisiana troops rescued 308 citizens during 44 missions with high-water vehicles, 29 citizens during six boat missions, and six citizens with two helicopter missions, Guard officials reported.

The state had 255 trucks, 41 boats and 20 helicopters for search and rescue missions.

“Our Guardsmen have proven once again that they are the finest soldiers and airmen in America,” Army Maj. Gen. Bennett Landreneau, Louisiana’s adjutant general, said. “They are truly remarkable, working every day to assist their fellow citizens, even though in many cases their homes were flooded or damaged and their own families evacuated.”

DoD
American Forces Press Service

From KHOU in Houston:

As the storm raged, Reed—along with his friends, Larry and Crystal White—were praying the church would be just high enough to keep them from drowning in the massive storm surge.

If they could keep their heads above water, then all they would have to worry about were the hours of pounding rain and winds – and getting cozy with the king of the jungle.

“This guy had his cat in a cage in the back of his truck and he wouldn’t leave it,” said Reed.

As the storm got worse, the big cat’s owner opened the cage and brought his lion inside.

“It was no big deal; he is real good with big cats. Been raising them a long time,” said Reed.