ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 7, 2007  

Lutherans Assess Storm Damage in U.S. Great Plains
07-080-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Preliminary damage assessments are under
way after severe storms struck the U.S. Great Plains May 5-6.  At
least 10 people were killed and dozens of others were injured as
storms spawned about 75 tornado touchdowns in Kansas and
Oklahoma, according to Heather L. Feltman, executive director,
Lutheran Disaster Response -- a collaborative ministry of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-
Missouri Synod (LCMS).
     "The majority of the media coverage for these storms has
focused on Greensburg, Kansas," said Feltman.  About 90 percent
of the town's infrastructure was lost.  Greensburg is closed
except to its 1,500 residents and search and rescue teams.
Disaster response volunteers are not being allowed access while
the emergency phase of the disaster continues, she said.
     Roger Kruger, Lutheran Disaster Response coordinator,
traveled to the affected region May 7 to perform initial
assessments and to connect with disaster partners in the area.
On May 8 local Lutheran clergy and representatives from the LCMS
Kansas District and ELCA Central States Synod will gather at Our
Saviors Lutheran Church, Pratt, Kan., to discuss the immediate
and long-term needs of affected communities.  Our Saviors
Lutheran is a congregation of the LCMS.
     "Lutheran Disaster Response is prepared to offer assistance,
as needed, in the form of emergency hardship grants and spiritual
and emotional care.  Once the town has been reopened, we will
also be working in coordination with local congregations to
coordinate volunteer teams for debris removal and clean-up.
Plans are being made for volunteer teams to begin working this
weekend.  After an initial assessment has been completed, we will
help to organize residents in meeting long-term unmet needs and
volunteer coordination will likely continue through the
rebuilding phase," said Feltman.
     "We lift up in prayer those who (have) lost loved ones and
suffered property damage in this sudden and tragic event.  With
the understanding that the loss of life could have been much more
widespread, we also offer prayers of thanksgiving for the warning
systems that aided the residents of Greensburg in preparing for
the incoming storm," she said.
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DOMESTIC DISASTERS:
Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds to aid
survivors of major disasters inside the United States, Puerto
Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:
ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, P.O. Box 71764, Chicago,
Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via Internet:
http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/ddrgive

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