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Volunteer teams needed for Hurricane Dennis cleanup

A Web-only photo by Clyde Pressley A house in Atmore, Ala., shows damage from Hurricane Dennis.

July 22, 2005

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom* 

Volunteer teams will be needed this fall in Alabama and Florida for continued cleanup after Hurricane Dennis.

The Rev. Tom Hazelwood, U.S. disaster coordinator for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, said some teams already scheduled for the continuing Hurricane Ivan repair work were diverted to cleanup duty after Dennis came ashore July 10.

But more assistance, in the form of both unskilled and skilled labor, is needed from Labor Day through the fall. “There is a great need for teams,” he told United Methodist News Service. “At this point, there’s still a lot of debris to clean up.”

Teams and individuals wishing to volunteer in the Hurricane Dennis recovery can call UMCOR’s Volunteer Hotline toll free at (800) 918-3100.

Assessment of damage from the hurricane shows a path about 10 miles wide, according to Hazelwood. In Milton, Fla., and the nearby town of Pace, homes newly rebuilt or repaired after Hurricane Ivan suffered damage from wind or falling trees. “Milton and Pace seem to have gotten the worst of it,” he said.

According to reports compiled by the denomination’s Alabama-West Florida Conference, extensive damage was done to the sanctuary at First United Methodist Church in Atmore, Ala., where the organ and Steinway piano were destroyed. At First United Methodist Church in Flomaton, Ala., the classrooms and library resource room on the first and second floors suffered severe damage, and the building had extensive leakage.

A Web-only photo by Clyde Pressley Teens from Pensacola, Fla., help distribute flood buckets to those affected by Hurricane Dennis.

In the Pensacola District, numerous churches in Santa Rosa County and northern Escambia County sustained only superficial damage from Hurricane Dennis. However, many homes of church members were damaged.

Hazelwood said he plans to work with the conference staff on the possibility of assisting with case management of Hurricane Dennis victims.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened disaster recovery centers in both Florida and Alabama.

Aside from physical needs, the stress from last year’s hurricanes and the recent storm has created an anxiety level “that makes people almost unable to cope” when hurricane warnings are issued, Hazelwood said. He and Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster are consulting on how to address the spiritual and emotional needs of those affected by the hurricanes.

Hurricane Dennis was blamed for several deaths in the South. Outside the United States, the hurricane resulted in the deaths of dozens of people in Haiti and Cuba, destroyed homes and crops, and killed livestock.

According to information received by the Rev. Larry Rankin, staff with the United Methodist Florida Conference, the hurricane destroyed eight Methodist church buildings in the southeastern part of Cuba as well as house churches there. About 42 people sought emergency shelter in the sanctuary of the Methodist church in Niquero, the only Methodist church in that area not severely damaged.

A Web-only photo by Clyde Pressley Hurricane Dennis left the interior of First United Methodist Church in Atmore, Ala., in disrepair.

Elsewhere, communities in Texas and Mexico were assessing the impact of Hurricane Emily, which struck northeast Mexico on July 20. Southwest Texas Conference representatives were checking with the Mexican Methodist Church about disaster-recovery needs in northern Mexico, according to the conference Web site. Eight Texas counties in the Brownsville vicinity had light damage, according to Texas officials.

Contributions to United Methodist recovery efforts can be designated to Hurricanes 2005 Global, Advance No. 982523. Checks to UMCOR can be placed in church offering plates or mailed directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. To make a credit-card donation, call (800) 554-8583 or contribute online at www.methodistrelief.org.

UMCOR also needs donations of flood buckets filled with cleaning supplies. For more information, call UMCOR Sager-Brown in Baldwin, La., at (800) 814-8765 or visit http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/print/kits/.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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Resources

United Methodist Committee on Relief

Alabama-West Florida Conference

FEMA