wfn.org | UMCOR responds to Floyd victims

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

Sept. 20, 1999 News media contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-21-71B{476}

NOTE: This story is a sidebar to UMNS # 475

By United Methodist News Service

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is responding to the areas hardest
hit by Hurricane Floyd.

In the end, it was the rain produced by Floyd, not the strength of its
winds, which caused havoc along the eastern coast of the United States.
Flooding resulting from those rains created one of the worst disasters ever
in North Carolina and devastated pockets of New Jersey and New York State.
As of Sept. 20, at least 49 people had died because of Floyd.

In North Carolina, UMCOR is working with Bishop Marion Edwards and
conference disaster coordinators to develop a long-term response plan. A
truckload of cleaning supplies from the UMCOR Depot in Baldwin, La., was
expected to arrive Sept. 20 in North Carolina.

The agency also is working with conference staff in New Jersey to form an
ecumenical relief effort there. The town of Bound Brook was among the
hardest hit when the nearby Raritan River flooded during the storm and a
number of residents had to be rescued by boat from second and third-story
windows. Evacuees included Spanish-speaking immigrants from Mexico and Latin
America who work in nearby factories and motels.

According to Disaster News Network, the Bound Brook United Methodist Church
began collecting food donations as word of the flooding spread.

In Virginia, the Rev. Gary Milstead, United Methodist conference disaster
response team leader, reported relatively minor flooding, but no access to
the coastal islands of Saxes and Tangier. The parsonage of Memorial United
Methodist Church in Petersburg lost its roof and suffered water damage.

They eye of Floyd roared through Little Abaco Island in Bahamas, causing
extensive damage there as well as to nearby Moore's Island and Cat Island.

UMCOR consultant Larry Powell has been in contact with the counsel general
of the Bahamas regarding Hurricane Floyd damage. "They very definitely
wanted an UMCOR presence there," he said. Powell is awaiting further word
before making an assessment trip. 

The agency also sent a $10,000 grant to the Florida Conference, where minor
flooding occurred.

Donations for hurricane relief can be made to UMCOR for Hurricanes '99,
Advance No. 982460-1 and placed in church collection plates or mailed
directly to 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit card
donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583. 

Persons interested in volunteering for clean-up, debris removal and
rebuilding can call UMCOR's Volunteer Line at (800) 918-3100.

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