wfn.org | United Methodists continue response to storms

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

May 16, 2003	News media contact: Joretta Purdue7(202) 546-87227Washington 
   10-21-71BP{286}

NOTE: This is an update of three earlier stories, UMNS #269, #272 and #275.
Photographs are available.

By United Methodist News Service*

The United Methodist disaster and development agency moved to meet widespread
weather-related problems by providing five emergency grants plus disaster
response workers for several storm-struck areas.

Tornadoes and flash floods caused at least 43 deaths in Kansas, Missouri,
Tennessee and Illinois in the first half of May. Tornadoes, floods and hail
heavily damaged areas in those and other states.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief sent emergency grants to Kansas,
Southwest Texas and North Georgia annual (regional) conferences at the
request of the bishops in those areas. Earlier, the agency awarded grants to
the Missouri and Memphis conferences. Several of the most-affected areas were
collecting special offerings in their conferences, and volunteers stepped in
to clear debris, carry food and water to people in need, and care for the
bereaved. 

According to weather reports, the 384 tornadoes that hit 19 states during the
week of May 4 set the U.S. record for number of twisters in a single week.
Flooding was especially severe in parts of Georgia and Alabama but also
affected other areas.

UMCOR disaster workers and teams of volunteers were quick to help in cleanup
efforts. In several areas, the volunteers had to keep an eye on the sky as
storms continued.

On the evening of May 15, at least two tornadoes hit Seward County in
southwestern Kansas. Hail, wind and rain caused damage and locally heavy
flooding in the county, which includes the city of Liberal. Meade, Clark and
Ford counties to the east and northeast of Seward County also experienced
severe storms.

Cherri and Bob Baer, UMCOR disaster response staff, had already been working
for a week with Kansas East Conference disaster response coordinator Julie
Pohl by that time. Super-cell storms on May 4 had taken a toll within the
conference boundaries: seven people killed, more than 50 injured, 166 homes
destroyed and nearly 600 homes damaged.

"Don't forget these people," said Cherri Baer. "They will need help for a
long time."

In an article for the Kansas East Connection newspaper, Karen Robertson
pointed to another long-range consequence of the destructive weather.

"Although the storms that hit rural areas did not receive the publicity given
to those that hit Kansas City and Lawrence, they will likely have a more
devastating long-term effect. When a tornado hits a farm, it not only
destroys the home but also the means of livelihood. Equipment costing tens of
thousands of dollars is lost, fields can't be worked until all debris is
removed, (and) scattered livestock must be found and taken care of even
though fences and feed are gone."

In Missouri, the Rev. Max Marble, who works with conference disaster
response, said the damage is still being assessed. As of May 16, the totals
were 2,935 homes affected and 800 destroyed.

"Tornadoes hit the four corners of the state, and 39 counties were affected,"
he said. "Right now, we are concentrating our work in six areas that
sustained major damage."

The conference has been approved for an initial $50,000 grant and is taking a
special offering throughout the state. The special offering will be used
first to assist three churches that were destroyed or heavily damaged, but
only after all insurance is pursued. The offering will also help fund the
rebuilding of homes that did not have adequate insurance coverage. UMCOR has
sent two workers to assist in Missouri.

In Oklahoma, tornadoes raked the Oklahoma City area May 8-9, damaging or
destroying at least 3,000 homes and businesses. The 47 United Methodist
churches in the paths of the twisters were not damaged, nor were any of the
parsonages, according to conference insurance officials.

Richard Whetsell, who heads the Oklahoma Conference disaster recovery
ministry, noted that conference participation is greatest after the emergency
phase has passed. United Methodist agencies work during relief, the second
phase, and during recovery, the third phase. His agency's work is closely
coordinated with that of other relief agencies, he added.

"Working with other organizations sometimes means waiting to respond until
decisions are made about who is going to do what, but it minimizes waste and
duplications of services and enhances our ability to help more people in more
ways," Whetsell explained.

United Methodist teams are helping clear debris and are pulling together
plans to repair and rebuild homes if necessary for people who have no other
source of help. Following tornadoes in 1999 that devastated wide areas in
central Oklahoma, several thousand volunteers from 27 states and five
countries helped United Methodists build 21 homes and repair several hundred.

Because the recent storms may trigger trauma associated with the 1999
tornadoes, a counselor is contacting congregations to help them assess this
need and offer counseling.

The Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference is also responding to needs in the
area. Four members of Norman First American United Methodist Church, outside
Oklahoma City, lost their homes. For one family, this was the second time.
They were in the cellar of their home, built after the 1999 tornadoes. The
church is again helping them relocate.

Another tornado struck Oklahoma on May 16, ripping off portions of the roof
of Oak Park United Methodist Church in Bartlesville. The surrounding
community sustained heavy damage. Church work teams are canvassing the
community, assisting in cleanup and assessing damage.	A May 16 storm also
hit Knoxville, Tenn., with 100-mile-per-hour winds and tennis ball-sized hail
that injured at least four people in Loudon County.

UMCOR has sent three people to the Memphis Conference to help set up
long-term recovery programs for communities in western Tennessee, including
Jackson, where both First United Methodist and Northside United Methodist
churches were heavily damaged. The parsonage at Key's Chapel-Mt. Pleasant
United Methodist Church was destroyed.

Bishop William W. Morris of the Nashville (Tenn.) Area noted that $10,000 in
emergency funds had been received for the Memphis Conference, and he had
requested a similar grant for the Tennessee Conference, where tornado damage
in three countries has been estimated at $3 million. His area includes both
conferences.

UMCOR expects to make an emergency grant to the Kentucky Conference, where a
tornado hit at least two towns. Cleanup is ongoing there and in Illinois,
where tornadoes moved along a 130-mile stretch that included at least 20
towns. Southwest Texas received a grant to address needs resulting from a
tornado that hit a Hispanic community, near Mission, Texas, in April.

Flooding damaged about 900 homes in central and north Alabama. UMCOR has been
sending "flood buckets" from its Sager-Brown Depot in Baldwin, La.

UMCOR is reporting that its funding is running low due to the storms. Checks
can be made out to UMCOR, designated for Advance Special #901680 "Spring
Storms 2003" and placed in church offering plates or mailed to UMCOR, 475
Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card contributions may be
made by calling (800) 554-8583.

Volunteers are also needed. For details, contact Jeanie Blankenbaker at (212)
870-3825 or Jblaken@gbgm-umc.org.
# # #
*Information for this article was provided by Karen Robertson of the Kansas
East Conference, Boyce Bowdon of the Oklahoma Conference, Fred Koenig of the
Missouri Conference, Doug Cannon of the Southwest Texas Conference, Juanita
Brummitt of the Tennessee Conference and Tom Hazelwood, UMCOR Disaster
Network coordinator.

 
 

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org