wfn.org | New response groups unsung helpers in Texas flood recovery

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Dec. 4, 1998	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-54708Nashville, Tenn.
{713}

By Susan Kim*

AUSTIN, Tex. (UMNS) -- In his kitchen, Fritz Parker, a  volunteer with
the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR),  keeps a metal filing
cabinet full of Texas disaster information.  This fall the files are
bursting at the seams. 
            
		
Hundreds of newspaper articles, Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) reports, church newsletters, and emails have been produced in
the aftermath of October floods that caused 32 Texas counties to be
declared disaster zones. 
            
Amid piles of paper, Parker locates a "statistical wrap-up" -- but notes
that this won't be the last report as new damages are still  being found
more than six weeks after the disaster. 
            
Though the tallies of loss do not approach the staggering ones of
Central America in the wake of Hurricane Mitch, Texans are still working
on recovery from the floods that killed 31 people,  destroyed 2,733
structures, damaged 9,935 structures and caused $620.4 million in
residential losses, $71.9 million in business losses, and $239.9 million
in public property losses.

The overall numbers make the press much more often than the stories of
the interfaith disaster response organizations springing  up all over
the state -- New Braunfels Recovers, DeWitt County  Cares, the Noah
Project in Wharton, the Guadelupe Valley Ministerial  Association, and
Goliad Remembers. 
            
Parker's role is to help communities form these interfaith groups.
"It's very different for each community," he said. "Some are much more
evolved at this point than others, though they're are getting there.
 
"If there was already a group in place -- such as a ministerial
alliance or a group formed in response to a previous flood -- it's
easier to organize. For example, Wimberly had some minor flooding  last
year, and the response committee stayed loosely together, so it  was
matter of four phone calls to bring it back." 
            
Parker also encourages the interfaith relief organizations to seek the
support of FEMA and of state and local officials. "In Lockhart, for
example, the  interfaith got a lot of support from the county, and that
helped organize it faster," he explained. 
            
The new interfaith groups have the same goal: to organize  long-term
response that will help meet people's needs when  government assistance
cannot. 
            
In Seguin, the Rev. Bill Shupe, who leads the Guadelupe Valley
Ministerial Association, said that the interfaith group's job also  is
to let people know what services are available. 

"When people stop by the donation center, we ask if they've talked to
FEMA, and if  they know where the Red Cross service center is." 
            
FEMA, for example, is urging people rebuilding in flooded areas to
elevate their  homes, raise utility connections and electrical outlets,
and use  tile rather than carpet. Interfaith organizations can
communicate  this kind of information to work teams arriving from around
the nation. 
            
"It's important that volunteers have a clear idea of local codes and
regulations," said Marian MacNeill, a volunteer with Presbyterian
Disaster Assistance who helps communities organize interfaith  groups. 

Volunteer teams are usually assigned to rebuilding homes, but in Texas
some may help rebuild the riverside recreational facilities that  bring
in millions of dollars in tourist revenues for the state each  year.

When the floods caused $2.2 million in damage to the New  Braunfels
sewage treatment plant, a broken 16-inch sewage main had  been spewing
two million gallons a day of raw sewage into the  Guadulupe River, where
many recreational outfits are located. Now  that the water is again safe
for contact, volunteers are needed to  help remove debris. Rafters and
tubers begin flocking to the river after Memorial Day. 
            
Volunteers will be needed to clear debris from homes, since  most state
and county officials ended debris cleanup by  Thanksgiving because of
high equipment costs and staff overtime.

Even as celebrities such as country music star Willie Nelson and St.
Louis Cardinals outfielder Ron Gant donate to Texas flood relief,  the
unsung "neighbor-helping-neighbor" is just as crucial, said the  Rev.
Chuck DeHaven, pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in New  Braunfels.

"You can simply offer to restore someone's damaged photo albums, or
offer to store their china for safekeeping in your house while they're
cleaning up," he said. "Little gestures can offer an incredible boost." 
            
Most interfaith organizations plan to stay in place for the next  two
years at least. They'll have a lasting impact on flood recovery and on
relationships between churches as well.

For example, when one local  church holds a potluck dinner or chili
cook- off that benefits flood  recovery, members from churches
throughout the community attend. 
            
"You go to their dinners and they go to yours," said Shupe. "It's a way
for churches to support each other." 
#  #  #

*This story originated on Disaster News Network, where Kim is a writer.
The network can be found online at www.disasternews.net.

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(615)742-5470
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