wfn.org | CRC NEWS: CRWRC Prepares Hurricane Rita Response

["Henry Hess" <hessh@crcna.ca>]

Grand Rapids, Mich., Sept. 23, 2005 - As Hurricane Rita races towards
the already battered Gulf Coast region, the Christian Reformed World
Relief Committee (CRWRC) is readying an emergency response. With decades
of U.S. disaster relief experience, CRWRC has resident volunteers across
the Gulf States monitoring the storm and relaying situation reports.

"While aid needed for Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi is
unprecedented," says Bill Adams, CRWRC Disaster Response Manager, "there
is no question that CRWRC will stretch to respond to those affected by
Rita." As this next storm travels across the Gulf of Mexico toward the
vulnerable Southern US coastline, an unusually active 2005 hurricane
season is not yet half over.

Rita, currently a dangerous category 4 hurricane, is expected to make
landfall on the Texas and Louisiana coast early Saturday with sustained
winds of 140 mph and higher gusts. Tides along the coast, already
swelling to dangerous levels along the fragile Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Alabama shoreline are expected to reach three to five feet above
normal, with a central storm surge of 18 to 20 feet along the TX coast.
Evacuation orders across the region have been in place for several days.

CRWRC is preparing volunteers to enter the affected region as soon as
the storm clears to provide pastoral care and initial assessments,
making use of the organization's extensive disaster response experience
and most recent activity surrounding Hurricane Katrina. CRWRC is
partnering with the Christian Reformed Church Chaplaincy Service in this
initial response.

CRWRC is receiving donations for Hurricane Rita response. Donate by
calling 1/800-55-CRWRC, online at www.crwrc.org, or by mail to: CRWRC,
2850 Kalamazoo SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49560. Please designate your gift,
"Hurricanes 2005/Rita."

For more information or interview, call Bill Adams, DRS Manager, at
616-560-2782. Or Beth DeGraff, US Media Contact, at 616-648-7821.

For more information about CRWRC Disaster Response Services or our 2005
Hurricane season response, visit www.crwrc.org or call 1-800-55-CRWRC.
CRWRC is a non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North
America with offices in Burlington, Ontario, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
CRWRC ministers to the world's poorest and most vulnerable people in
relief, development, and justice education. Incorporated in 1962, CRWRC
is now present in 36 countries and has an international reputation for
"living justice, loving mercy."
-30-

---------------------------------
Henry Hess
Director of Communications
Christian Reformed Church
905-336-2920 ext.236
hessh@crcna.ca

To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church, visit www.crcna.org