Dear friends in Christ,
Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) continues
to work with interfaith and community disaster responders as relief and
recovery efforts develop and grow in the Midwest and Southeast. The major
spring storms include innumerable tornadoes and resulting floods.
As I receive field reports from our local LDR coordinators, I want to share
parts with you. I also want to add special thanks go to the Thrivent
Financial for Lutherans Foundation, which is making funds available to local
community service staff to participate in these responses.
John Sims (LDR coordinator, Lutheran Services in Tennessee) writes this
report:
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Early assessment on TN tornado damage, including lives lost in Morgan
County, is underway.
As of June 3, 2003, the southeast Tennessee VOAD is organizing a long-term
recovery committee to meet the emerging needs of flood victims in the region
and especially in Hamilton County. LDR-TN is "sitting at the table" in this
third active disaster recovery of the year.
The need is just now becoming evident as victims are finding out that what
looked OK after mucking out their homes aren't OK. With the FEMA deadline
July 7, the 1,132 registrations in Hamilton County are likely to grow as mold
develops, etc. (there are more flooded homes in adjacent counties).
1) In The Plateau Region: Recovery is now in the latter stage of
completion. "Camp Noah" is being planned and volunteers are being recruited.
Publicity is going out through the radio, TV, and newspapers. A lot of
things have to be done before the July 14-18 camp!
2) West Tennessee: Bob Loftis is the "on-site" LDR-TN representative. Both
he and I have attended recover meetings in Jackson, and promised LDR's active
long-term support. The Jackson Area Ministerial Association (JAMA) is the
base group for recovery at this time, and some of those people were involved
in the '99 tornadoes. The West Tennessee recovery is expected to be very
long-term. Will Rabert (Church World Service) reports that in the ten-county
area 3,847 structures are estimated destroyed or damaged.
3) Chattanooga flooding: Much of the flooding receded as quickly as it came
in. This is the worst it has been in years, with a figure of 1,600 people
displaced initially. In Hamilton County 1,132 registrations have now been
filed with FEMA.
LDR/TN is making up for 3 years of no major disasters with 3 recoveries
ongoing in one year!
John Sims
Lutheran Disaster Response/Tennessee Coordinator
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To contribute:
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response - "Midwest Tornadoes"
PO Box 71764
Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via the web: www.elca.org/disaster
LC-MS World Relief and Human Care - "Midwest Tornadoes"
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438
Yours in Christ,
Gil Furst
Gilbert B. Furst (Written on 07/03/03, at 2:50 PM) Director for
ELCA DOMESTIC DISASTER RESPONSE (Division for Church in Society) and
LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LC-MS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2719 FAX: 773-380-2493
Please visit our websites: www.ldr.org www.elca.org/dcs/disaster
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