wfn.org | Communication Restored Following Wisconsin Tornado

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 16, 2002

COMMUNICATION RESTORED FOLLOWING WISCONSIN TORNADO
02-221-DM*

    CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Telephone service in Ladysmith, Wis., was
restored last week, helping residents and people responding to severe
damage to the city's downtown area following a Sept. 3 tornado. The
telephone service had been disrupted by a  bolt of lighting that
struck at the same time as the tornado.
     Telephone lines started to function Sept.11, said the Rev.
Robert D. Berg, bishop of the ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, Rice
Lake, Wis., in a telephone interview.
      "It is only now that figures and requests are starting to come
in as to what the needs for the people are in the area after the
tornado," he said.
     According to the Rev. Jeffrey P. Pedersen, Hope Lutheran
Church, Ladysmith, "the tornado left about 100 businesses and homes
damaged, leaving hundreds of people homeless."
   "The damage was mostly confined to the business district of the
community, where many roofs and water towers have been affected," he
added.
     "Dozens of people were injured," said Pedersen. "From the
destruction caused by the tornado, we feared that many people had
died, but we are thankful to God that no deaths were reported."
     "Hope Lutheran Church has been providing food and shelter for
displaced people," he said.  Pederson was not certain how many people
were displaced.
     "Volunteers from different congregations have been coming in to
offer assistance," he said.
     Staff of the Lutheran Social Service (LSS) agencies have been
responding from the beginning, working closely with the local
pastors, congregations and with staff from Lutheran Disaster Response
(LDR), a ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
-- -- --
     *Diana Mavunduse is a communicator with the World Council of
Churches, Geneva, Switzerland.	This fall she is serving as a
volunteer with the ELCA News Service.

DOMESTIC DISASTERS:

Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to
survivors of major disasters inside the United States, Puerto Rico
or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:

ELCA Domestic Disaster Response
P.O. Box 71764
Chicago, IL  60694-1764
800-638-3522

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html