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Dear friends in Christ,

"We clean up a little, cry a little, and then go on," said Jean Roth as we
stood in the midst of broken glass and debris. One tornado was spawned by
Hurricane Floyd, alongside Lake Phelps, North Carolina - but that one
snapped dozens of trees around the retirement home of Pastor Herbert Roth
and his wife, many falling on the side and back of their house.

I am writing this report from North Carolina, where Charles Moeller
(Lutheran Disaster Response Consultant), Rob Blezard (THE LUTHERAN
magazine), and James Skillington (Disaster News Network), and I just
completed 13-hours of site visits.  We drove through rain, sometimes heavy,
that added another 6-8 inches to the already-flooded Tar and Neuse rivers.
Rivers are not expected to crest until the end of this week.  Along the way
we visited Goldsboro, Kinston, Washington, Lake Phelps, Princeville, and
Rocky Mount.

In Kinston some houses stand deep in the water, cars up to their roofs.
The water is polluted with oil and gasoline slicks.  Pastor Ron Fletcher,
Faith Lutheran Church, told us that major portions of the town are still in
the water, and people can't even begin deal with their losses.  He is
mobilizing his congregation and other community congregations to respond to
their neighbors needs.

Pastor Lewis Murdock, Grace Lutheran Church, Washington, lead us around his
rural parish.  We passed water-filled fields, where cotton bolls - white in
other parts of the state - have been destroyed, blackened and made filthy
by rampaging floods.  He introduced us to Pastor and Mrs. Roth, who live
next to Lake Phelps.  A hurricane-spawned tornado affected only a few
houses in the area, destroying a mobile home next door, and severely
damaging the Roth's retirement house.  "There is a little angel in our
garden who watched over us," Pastor Roth said.  It seems that angel has
been working overtime!

We drove around roadblocks (some highways are under water) and arrived in
Princeville, near Rocky Mount.  The entire town was deserted.   Although
the water receded a bit, people still could not return to their homes to
clean up and make repairs.  The stench in the air was incredible, a mixture
of mud and dead farm animals, pesticides washed off the fields and fuel,
raw sewage and rotting crops.

A full report by the state emergency management is still pending, because
many areas are still inaccessible.  As of September 28, there are 47
confirmed deaths and 4 missing persons (presumed dead).  About 6,000 houses
have sustained moderate damage, over 2,000 are severely damaged, and 948
houses are destroyed - and three counties are not included in this report.

At this point volunteers cannot be utilized.  It is too dangerous because
of the pollution, and many areas are still closed.  Anyone anticipating
volunteering must have at minimum a tetanus shot.  Lutheran Disaster
Response is in the process of hiring a coordinator and a volunteer
coordinator, setting up a disaster response office, and putting in a
toll-free number.  We hope to have that in place within the next week to
ten days.

As damage updates continue to come in from North Carolina, New Jersey, and
other states, your prayers will continue to sustain those who affected by
Hurricane Floyd, and those responding in the name of the church.

You can help by sending contributions to:

    ELCA Domestic Disaster Response Fund - "Hurricanes"
    P.O. Box # 71764
    Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764.

        Credit card gift line:  1-800-638-3522


    LC-MS World Relief
    P.O. Box 66861
    St. Louis, MO 63166-9810

        Credit card gift line:  1-888-930-4438


In Christ,
Gil Furst

GILBERT B. FURST (written on Tue, Sep 28, 1999, at 10:28 pm)
Director, ELCA Domestic Disaster Response (Division for Church in Society),
Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LCMS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631   PHONE: 773-380-2822  FAX: 773-380-2493
Visit our website:  www.elca.org/dcs/disaster