wfn.org | Aid follows Hurricane Fran

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3152 notes).

Note 3152 by UMNS on Sept. 6, 1996 at 16:16 Eastern (4337 characters).

SEARCH:   Hurricane, Fran, UMCOR, relief, Wilmington, Raleigh
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Joretta Purdue                         438(10-71B){3152}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722           Sept. 6, 1996

Church aid sent into area
devastated by Hurricane Fran

                 by United Methodist News Service

     Hurricane Fran has left a wide area of devastation and
disruption in North Carolina, according to Wendy Whiteside of the
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), the relief agency of
the United Methodist Church.
     UMCOR, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, had
supplies and personnel on standby before the storm struck. The
church agency began deploying them to the affected areas, even as
the tropical storm blew its way through Virginia and states to the
north.
     Throughout the multi-state area, Hurricane Fran -- demoted to
Tropical Storm Fran as its winds lessened -- continued to dump
several inches of rain on already-saturated ground, causing
widespread flooding.
     By noon Sept. 6, less than 24 hours after the storm came
ashore near Wilmington, N.C., the death toll stood at 12 with more
fatalities expected as emergency crews continued their work.
     Extensive flooding was being reported in Raleigh, N.C., where
so many trees were down that most of the electric and phone
service was out. Residents there dared not venture far from
shelter although the city is more than 100 miles north of
Wilmington. North Carolina was declared a disaster area.
     Three million people along the East Coast lost power due to
the storm, and authorities indicated that it would be some time
before they dared to turn on the power as the downed lines
constituted a safety hazard. The storm also spawned tornadoes.
     Contact with North Carolina church personnel, including the
conference disaster response coordinator, was by cellular phone
only, but the disaster network under Virginia Miller's leadership
hummed.
     Whiteside, executive director for UMCOR program management,
said that two volunteer chain-saw crews from South Carolina had
moved into North Carolina coastal areas and crews from Florida and
Alabama were also at work in the state. All were proceeding
"cautiously" because of the electric wires brought down by the
falling trees.
     However, she cautioned that it might be as much as two weeks
before other kinds of volunteer teams could go into the area. Help
will be needed, but Whiteside urged all volunteers to check with
the mission volunteer coordinator at (800) 918-3100 before going
into the area or sending in supplies.
     "The area has been badly devastated, so any volunteer crews
that go in there are going to have to be self-contained,"
Whiteside said. She explained that such crews will need to provide
their own sleeping quarters, water, food, electricity and sewage.
"They can't take anything from the community."
     Until the victims have enough resources to meet their basic
needs, volunteers -- other than the self-contained units -- could
not be sent into the affected areas, she added.
     "Because such a large area has been damaged, we'll have to do
some real specific deployment of volunteers" to match skills and
abilities to the situations, Whiteside said.
     A truck loaded with generators, drinking water and other
supplies set out from the UMCOR depot in Louisiana to a yet-
undetermined destination in North Carolina.
     Two other trucks loaded with cleaning supplies were ready to
be driven into the devastated area as soon as the way was clear
enough for them to reach areas of need.
     The relief effort will be extensive, and will require
considerable money as well as volunteers over a long period,
Whiteside said. 
     Donations for this work are being channeled through 
"Hurricanes '96," Advance Special No. 982410-0 sent to the General
Board of Global Ministries in New York through conference
treasurers for church members or directly by others.
     An extensive list of emergency supplies will be needed. For
details call the UMCOR depot (800) 814-8765 or UMCOR headquarters
(800) 554-8583.
                              #  #  #

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