NOTE: This is an update of three earlier stories, UMNS #269, #272 and #275. Photographs are available.
By United Methodist News Service*
Church
officials assess storm damage at Carl Junction (Mo.) United Methodist
Church, near Joplin, after a tornado struck the area. From left are
David Van Giesen, Ozarks North District superintendent; Butch Mulvaney,
a church member; and Frieda and the Rev. Tony Blevins. Rev. Blevins is
to be appointed to the church this summer. A UMNS photo by Fred Koenig.
Photo number 03-182, Accompanies UMNS #286, 5/16/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
The
front of Carl Junction (Mo.) United Methodist Church, near Joplin, was
pushed in and much of the roof torn off during a tornado May 4. At the
time of the storm, about 20 people who were in the church for various
events took shelter in the bathrooms. When they emerged, they discovered
the roof of the 7-year-old building was gone. There were no injuries. A
UMNS photo by Fred Koenig. A UMNS photo by Fred Koenig. Photo number
03-181, Accompanies UMNS #286, 5/16/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
A
May 4 tornado killed two people in the Pierce City, Mo., National Guard
armory. Though the armory is a designated storm shelter, the victims
couldn't reach the basement before the storm struck. A UMNS photo by
Fred Koenig. Photo number 03-183, Accompanies UMNS #286, 5/16/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
Much
of the historic Pierce City, Mo., downtown business district was
destroyed by a May 4 tornado. Tornadoes and flash floods caused at least
43 deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois in the first half
of May. Tornadoes, floods and hail heavily damaged areas in those and
other states. The United Methodist Committee on Relief sent emergency
grants to Kansas, Southwest Texas and North Georgia annual (regional)
conferences at the request of the bishops in those areas. A UMNS photo
by Fred Koenig. Photo number 03-184, Accompanies UMNS #286, 5/16/03
No Long Caption Available for this Story
The United Methodist disaster and development
agency moved to meet widespread weather-related problems by providing
five emergency grants plus disaster response workers for several
storm-struck areas.
Tornadoes and flash floods caused at least 43
deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois in the first half of
May. Tornadoes, floods and hail heavily damaged areas in those and
other states.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief sent
emergency grants to Kansas, Southwest Texas and North Georgia annual
(regional) conferences at the request of the bishops in those areas.
Earlier, the agency awarded grants to the Missouri and Memphis
conferences. Several of the most-affected areas were collecting special
offerings in their conferences, and volunteers stepped in to clear
debris, carry food and water to people in need, and care for the
bereaved.
According to weather reports, the 384 tornadoes that
hit 19 states during the week of May 4 set the U.S. record for number of
twisters in a single week. Flooding was especially severe in parts of
Georgia and Alabama but also affected other areas.
UMCOR disaster
workers and teams of volunteers were quick to help in cleanup efforts.
In several areas, the volunteers had to keep an eye on the sky as storms
continued.
On the evening of May 15, at least two tornadoes hit
Seward County in southwestern Kansas. Hail, wind and rain caused damage
and locally heavy flooding in the county, which includes the city of
Liberal. Meade, Clark and Ford counties to the east and northeast of
Seward County also experienced severe storms.
Cherri and Bob
Baer, UMCOR disaster response staff, had already been working for a week
with Kansas East Conference disaster response coordinator Julie Pohl by
that time. Super-cell storms on May 4 had taken a toll within the
conference boundaries: seven people killed, more than 50 injured, 166
homes destroyed and nearly 600 homes damaged.
"Don't forget these people," said Cherri Baer. "They will need help for a long time."
In
an article for the Kansas East Connection newspaper, Karen Robertson
pointed to another long-range consequence of the destructive weather.
"Although
the storms that hit rural areas did not receive the publicity given to
those that hit Kansas City and Lawrence, they will likely have a more
devastating long-term effect. When a tornado hits a farm, it not only
destroys the home but also the means of livelihood. Equipment costing
tens of thousands of dollars is lost, fields can't be worked until all
debris is removed, (and) scattered livestock must be found and taken
care of even though fences and feed are gone."
In Missouri, the
Rev. Max Marble, who works with conference disaster response, said the
damage is still being assessed. As of May 16, the totals were 2,935
homes affected and 800 destroyed.
"Tornadoes hit the four corners
of the state, and 39 counties were affected," he said. "Right now, we
are concentrating our work in six areas that sustained major damage."
The
conference has been approved for an initial $50,000 grant and is taking
a special offering throughout the state. The special offering will be
used first to assist three churches that were destroyed or heavily
damaged, but only after all insurance is pursued. The offering will also
help fund the rebuilding of homes that did not have adequate insurance
coverage. UMCOR has sent two workers to assist in Missouri.
In
Oklahoma, tornadoes raked the Oklahoma City area May 8-9, damaging or
destroying at least 3,000 homes and businesses. The 47 United Methodist
churches in the paths of the twisters were not damaged, nor were any of
the parsonages, according to conference insurance officials.
Richard
Whetsell, who heads the Oklahoma Conference disaster recovery ministry,
noted that conference participation is greatest after the emergency
phase has passed. United Methodist agencies work during relief, the
second phase, and during recovery, the third phase. His agency's work is
closely coordinated with that of other relief agencies, he added.
"Working
with other organizations sometimes means waiting to respond until
decisions are made about who is going to do what, but it minimizes waste
and duplications of services and enhances our ability to help more
people in more ways," Whetsell explained.
United Methodist teams
are helping clear debris and are pulling together plans to repair and
rebuild homes if necessary for people who have no other source of help.
Following tornadoes in 1999 that devastated wide areas in central
Oklahoma, several thousand volunteers from 27 states and five countries
helped United Methodists build 21 homes and repair several hundred.
Because
the recent storms may trigger trauma associated with the 1999
tornadoes, a counselor is contacting congregations to help them assess
this need and offer counseling.
The Oklahoma Indian Missionary
Conference is also responding to needs in the area. Four members of
Norman First American United Methodist Church, outside Oklahoma City,
lost their homes. For one family, this was the second time. They were in
the cellar of their home, built after the 1999 tornadoes. The church is
again helping them relocate.
Another tornado struck Oklahoma on
May 16, ripping off portions of the roof of Oak Park United Methodist
Church in Bartlesville. The surrounding community sustained heavy
damage. Church work teams are canvassing the community, assisting in
cleanup and assessing damage. A May 16 storm also hit Knoxville,
Tenn., with 100-mile-per-hour winds and tennis ball-sized hail that
injured at least four people in Loudon County.
UMCOR has sent
three people to the Memphis Conference to help set up long-term recovery
programs for communities in western Tennessee, including Jackson, where
both First United Methodist and Northside United Methodist churches
were heavily damaged. The parsonage at Key's Chapel-Mt. Pleasant United
Methodist Church was destroyed.
Bishop William W. Morris of the
Nashville (Tenn.) Area noted that $10,000 in emergency funds had been
received for the Memphis Conference, and he had requested a similar
grant for the Tennessee Conference, where tornado damage in three
countries has been estimated at $3 million. His area includes both
conferences.
UMCOR expects to make an emergency grant to the
Kentucky Conference, where a tornado hit at least two towns. Cleanup is
ongoing there and in Illinois, where tornadoes moved along a 130-mile
stretch that included at least 20 towns. Southwest Texas received a
grant to address needs resulting from a tornado that hit a Hispanic
community, near Mission, Texas, in April.
Flooding damaged about
900 homes in central and north Alabama. UMCOR has been sending "flood
buckets" from its Sager-Brown Depot in Baldwin, La.
UMCOR is
reporting that its funding is running low due to the storms. Checks can
be made out to UMCOR, designated for Advance Special #901680 "Spring
Storms 2003" and placed in church offering plates or mailed to UMCOR,
475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card
contributions may be made by calling (800) 554-8583.
Volunteers are also needed. For details, contact Jeanie Blankenbaker at (212) 870-3825 or Jblaken@gbgm-umc.org. # # # *Information
for this article was provided by Karen Robertson of the Kansas East
Conference, Boyce Bowdon of the Oklahoma Conference, Fred Koenig of the
Missouri Conference, Doug Cannon of the Southwest Texas Conference,
Juanita Brummitt of the Tennessee Conference and Tom Hazelwood, UMCOR
Disaster Network coordinator.