wfn.org | Re: United Methodist Daily News note 552

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Reply-to: owner-umethnews@ecunet.org (United Methodist News list)
"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (558
notes).

Note 556 by UMNS on Jan. 20, 1998 at 17:20 Eastern (2376 characters).

CONTACT: Linda Bloom					29(10-71B){556}
	    New York (212) 870-3803		  Jan. 20, 1998

Pacific victims suffer
damage from three typhoons

by Bob Blair*
	
	SAIPAN (UMNS) -- Members of a United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
team talked with victims of three successive typhoons here during a
mid-January assessment visit.
	Lorraine Kadooka of Honolulu, disaster response coordinator for United
Methodists in the Pacific, reported that residents of the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands "need our prayers and loving generosity."
	Other members of the team included Kathy Thomas-Sano of Pasadena, Calif.;
Gordon Knuckey of Denver, Colo., and Bob Blair of Woodstock, Va.
	Escorted by the Rev. Barbara Grace Ripple, pastor of the only United
Methodist Church on Saipan, the team toured damaged areas and participated in
a meeting of several church organizations. Those groups will function as an
interfaith consortium to provide disaster relief, supplementing the work of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
	"Our United Methodist church on Saipan was severely damaged on one side and
will require much financial aid from individual contributions," Kadooka said.
"They are not eligible for federal assistance."
	Super Typhoon Joan hit the commonwealth's three most densely populated
islands of Saipan (52,698 people), Tinian (2,631) and Rota (3,509) on Oct.
7-8.
	Repairs from Joan were incomplete when Super Typhoon Keith hit the islands on
Nov. 2, with the eye of the storm passing 25 miles north of Rota. At its peak,
Keith sustained winds of 185 mph, with gusts up to 225 mph.
	On Dec. 16-17, Super Typhoon Paka passed over the northern part of Guam, with
sustained winds of 150 mph and gusts up to 235 mph. Paka continued on and
struck Rota, which suffered major damage to its seaport, airport, schools,
office buildings and homes.
	The three super typhoons seriously degraded the commonwealth's resources and
prompted President Clinton to sign a major disaster declaration for the
islands. So far, 143 businesses and 1,713 families have applied for federal
assistance.
	United Methodists can make monetary donations by designated their checks to
UMCOR Advance No. 982515-0, "Hurricanes '97." Donations can be made through
local churches or mailed to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY
10115.
# # #
*Blair is an UMCOR volunteer.
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