wfn.org | PDA Sends $10,000 to Georgia in Aftermath of Killer Twisters

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

24-February-2000 
00090 
 
    PDA Sends $10,000 to Georgia in Aftermath of Killer Twisters 
 
    More aid allocated to Venezuela for flood relief 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) sent $10,000 
recently to officials in Georgia, where deadly tornadoes ripped through 
part of the state on Feb. 14, killing at least 18 people and injuring more 
than 100. 
 
    Survivors said the affected areas resemble a war zone.  President 
Clinton declared the four hardest-hit counties - Colquitt, Grady, Mitchell, 
and Tift - disaster areas, making them eligible for federal assistance. 
Officials estimated that 350 homes, many of them mobile homes, were 
destroyed.  The Insurance Information Institute estimated total damage at 
$25 million. 
 
    Initial reports from the Presbytery of Flint River in Albany, which 
includes the hardest-hit areas, indicates that Presbyterian churches and 
families may have escaped the worst damage. 
 
    "Thankfully, no Presbyterians have been reported injured or killed by 
the storm," said Stan Hankins, PDA's associate for U.S. disaster response. 
"Area churches are responding to needs for water, food, and clothing." 
 
     Two separate twisters cut a 1.5-mile-wide, 10-mile-long path through 
Mitchell County. Fourteen people died there, officials said. One of the 
hardest-hit areas was Camilla, just south of Albany. Officials report 
missing roofs, flattened homes, and mobile homes wrapped around trees. More 
than 90 percent of the trailers and their contents were completely 
destroyed in one park near Camilla. 
 
    Presbyterian Disaster officials announced on Feb. 17, after 
consultation with the presbytery, that they were sending a $10,000 initial 
grant from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering because of the severity 
of the damage. 
 
    Meanwhile, at the request of Church World Service, PDA team member Bob 
Barnes  was to visit the area to help organize and facilitate the response 
by the broader faith community, Hankins said. While there, Barnes is 
expected to represent the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in providing 
pastoral care and to help the presbytery develop a disaster-response plan. 
 
    In other developments, PDA reported: 
 
    * Relief efforts continue in Venezuela, where about 100,000 people are 
still living in shelters while many others are staying with family and 
friends in the wake of severe flooding and landslides in mid-December. The 
PDA recently completed its initial $200,000 commitment for emergency and 
recovery. In addition, PDA has provided $16,000 to underwrite travel and 
lodging for technical-aid workers; $10,000 to support a Church World 
Service (CWS) shipment of material aid; and $5,000 given directly to the 
Presbyterian Church of Venezuela. PDA also has shipped $20,000 in blankets, 
4,000 health kits and 1,500 baby kits to Venezuela through CWS. 
 
    * PDA recently provided $20,000 in assistance to East Timor to 
strengthen the capacity of local churches and faith-based organizations to 
develop and manage programs of disaster mitigation, preparedness and 
emergency response. Two Presbyterian mission co-workers have been 
identified as possible interpreters and/or trainers for emergency 
management training in Indonesia. 
 
    During 1999, PDA provided $175,000 in response to the massive influx of 
refugees into West Timor and other parts of Indonesia after the referendum 
on independence for East Timor last summer. Local Christian congregations 
provided invaluable help to the refugees by sharing food and shelter, but 
these people are also very poor and their hospitality has caused hardships. 
PDA funds have been used to provide basic humanitarian assistance of food, 
clothing, shelter, and other support, including medical programs. 
 
    * PDA's Trauma Response Unit has been working with clergy and church 
leaders in the Littleton, Colo. area  in the aftermath of a fatal shooting 
of two Columbine High School students at a fast-food Subway sandwich shop 
on Feb. 14. 
 
    The PC(USA) has established an account for contributions to the Georgia 
relief effort. Donations can be sent through normal giving channels, or 
directly to Central Receiving Service, Section 300, 100 Witherspoon Street, 
Louisville, KY 40289. Please use the following account number: account 
#9-2000015. 
 
    Visit PDA's World Wide Web site at www.pcusa.org/pda. 

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