Katrina Leaves Family Without Financial Records

Sept. 18, 2005 — -- The Keeffes seem like a happy family, playing with their two small children on a sunny day. To look at them, you would never know that just three weeks ago they were running for their lives.

Their $80,000 condominium in Slidell, La., was flooded by Hurricane Katrina.

"We lost everything," Leslie Keeffe sobbed. "All our items that took us so long to get were just completely destroyed."

The Keeffes are living in a relative's cramped trailer in McKenzie, Ala., trying to figure out how to rebuild their lives. They not only lost most of their personal possessions, they lost most of their financial records.

"Bank account papers, mortgage papers, birth certificates, Social Security cards, income tax papers," Keeffe said. "We don't know where to even begin."

Leslie and Shawn Keeffe and their kids are among tens of thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina with no personal or financial documents. They've lost the entire economic structure they're used to running their lives with. And they have little idea how to go about replacing it.

"Most people don't ever recover financially from a disaster," said Anat Kendal, director of The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, who has worked with the Red Cross preparing for disasters. "That's likely to be the case with the Gulf Coast and impacted individuals there. Most people haven't prepared in advance."

Kendal, who has worked with the Red Cross on preparing for such disasters, suggests everyone should:

Although they have no money, the Keeffes say they're determined to try to restore their financial lives. First, they're going to start by looking for jobs so they can care for their two babies.