The West, Texas disaster is among many in the news this week. The UMC church in West, Texas has been directly affected by the fertilizer plant explosion,  and surrounding churches are opening their doors to serve in cooperation with emergency management.

See the press release http://www.umcor.org/UMCOR/Resources/News-Stories/2013/April/0418-UMCOR-Responds-to-Texas-Emergency  and the Central Texas Conference web site. http://www.ctcumc.org

The Central Texas Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Rev. Laraine Waughtal, has been actively responding since the outset, and she has requested our assistance in reminding everyone of the following:

1)      Phone calls to the Conference office and to the local churches in the affected area with offers of help and expressions of concern can overwhelm critical communications. Please refer callers to the Conference web site for information about disaster response, or to the UMCOR Call Center 1-800-554-8583.

2)      Please do not deploy Early Response Teams, Care Teams, or other volunteers to the disaster affected Conference unless invited by Conference personnel.

3)      Redirect volunteer energies into building kits (especially clean up kits and health kits), fundraising, and local training and readiness activities.  For example, churches can develop or revise disaster readiness and response plans, or host a Connecting Neighbors program for the local church, district or conference.

4)      Churches should have current rosters and be prepared to share their roster with emergency management in an event wherein people are unaccounted for.

5)      Churches should have a mechanism for accounting for church members and affiliates following a disaster.

Larraine will keep us posted primarily via the conference web site. In the meantime, she has expressed appreciation for your prayers, and she is comforted knowing that many of you understand the demands of these early days and will help manage the expectations of the volunteers and others seeking to help and express care.

As I draft this, many other Conferences are preparing for or responding to recent flooding, tornadoes, and human-caused disasters. It is good to know the United Methodist Church is present and prepared to offer hope and healing.

Thank you, and keep in touch.
Cathy

Catherine G. Earl, MSW
Disaster Response US, Latin America, Caribbean
United Methodist Committee on Relief

A Message from Randy Burbank
North Alabama Conference Disaster Response Coordinator
nac.disaster.response@gmail.com

Here is the latest update for Camp Sumatanga.  Contact the Camp directly if you can help them finish cleaning up after the storm.

Randy – We have just been cleared by insurance to start clearing the damage on Nina Reeves.  We have 5 or 6 large trees that will need to be cut up and moved off of the damage.  Do you have a team that would be able to come give us a hand?  I’d prefer to get it done during the week, if possible, so that we do not have guests on property. 

Thanks for all of your help!
Matt

Matt Johnson
Executive Director
Sumatanga Camp and Conference Center

Here is the latest update from Camp Sumatanga:

Randy -

Just wanted to drop you a line – we are still waiting on insurance to give us the “go-ahead” for cleanup – but we’ve managed to get a good bit done with the brush on the ground – I truly appreciate all the outpouring of support that we have received.  I know we will want to utilize a few folks to help us, and I’ll let you know as soon as we can get going.  
Regards,

Matt Johnson
Executive Director
Sumatanga Camp and Conference Center
Office:  256.538.9860

For individuals and teams wanting to assist in the Crossville and Kilpatrick areas, call DeKalb County E.M.A. at 256-638-9909 and leave a message if no one answers.  The Crossville School Gym is the staging area for volunteers and supplies. 

Their current list of supplies needed are:

• Baby Diapers sizes Newborn and size 4
• Baby Wipes
• Bottled Water
• Brooms
• Personal Hygiene items
• Tarps

You may either take these items directly, or if it is closer to you, bring the items to the Northwest District Disaster Warehouse, 3220 Hwy 31 South, Building F, Decatur, AL 35603.  Phone number:  (256) 341-9961.

In His Grace,
Randy Burbank
N.A.C. Disaster Response Coordinator

For those wanting to help in the Crossville/Kilpatrick area, we have the following contact information for teams wanting to help: Call 256-638-9909 is the "Helpline" number they are using to call to donate or volunteer.   I think it is the number to Community Action office in Rainsville. The Crossville School is only open limited afternoon hours so I know it is not a staging area. Contacting that number will be the closest thing there is at this time and from there I guess they will direct work groups.

We just received word yesterday that the Kilpatrick community is in need of assistance for Debris Removal. 

This being classified as a local disaster, ERT badging will not be an issue, however for safety it is highly recommended that at least one person be ERT badged.  I am not certain where or if there is a staging area for Volunteers to sign in but I am trying to ascertain that information and will pass it along as quickly as possible. 

Begin putting teams together now and I will notify everyone as soon as I know where teams can go to sign in and receive assignments.  Continue to pray for everyone affected by this round of storms.

In His Grace,
Randy Burbank
N.A.C. Disaster Response Coordinator
nac.disaster.response@gmail.com
256-762-9347

We have received a Governor's Declaration of a State of Emergency as a result of the storms that went across our Conference on Monday, March 18.  The National Weather Service determined that 3 areas affected by Monday's storms were tornadoes.  The Kilpatrick area was impacted by an EF-2 tornado.  The Fyffe/Shiloh area was also impacted by an EF-2 tornado.  A portion of Marshall county leading into Etowah county was impacted by an EF-1 tornado, as well as the Sardis City area was impacted by an EF-1.  Cullman County received significant damage from strong wind, as well as other areas.  Remember that the Northwest District Disaster Response Warehouse does have on hand tarps, nails and lathing strips to cover damaged roofs.  Contact the Warehouse at (256) 341-9961.  The Warehouse will deliver these items.  If there are other items that are needed, please pass these along to the Warehouse.

As you may be aware, Camp Sumatanga received some significant damage.  Camp Director Matt Johnson informed me yesterday that they were waiting for the insurance adjuster before they began full debris removal.  We will need teams after the insurance assessment.  We will send out an email when Matt requests further help.  Contact your District Disaster Response Coordinator, or myself if you have needs or would like to help in both the relief or recovery phases.  Continue to keep everyone affected by Monday's storms in your prayers.

In His Grace,

Randy Burbank
Conference Disaster Response Coordinator
nac.disaster.response@gmail.com

The Great Hour of Sharing is a way in which we can be an additional help to those annual conferences here in the USA, and in the connectional system abroad, when disaster strikes.  This allows UMCOR staff to be one the ground as a resource all over the world in times of need. 

United Methodist Churches and teams are responding to Sunday's tornadoes that have affected many counties in south Mississippi, according to the Rev. Wayne Napier, Mississippi Conference Disaster Response Coordinator.

An invitation has now been issued to United Methodist Early Response Teams that are certified to assist with the work that is already well in progress by local churches. These outside teams must be self-sufficient and coordinated through the following hubs; Petal First UMC, Asbury UMC, and Columbia First UMC.   

In the Petal, MS area,(Forrest County) Rev. Jonathan Wallace, pastor at First UMC of Petal, and Rev. Andy Stoddard, pastor of Asbury UMC, are coordinating the work in that area. These two congregations have places to send Early Response Teams starting Thursday, February 14.   

Rev. Stoddard said there is also a need for persons who speak Spanish. There are a number of Hispanic communities that have been affected by the storms. Volunteers who have the ability to speak Spanish are needed.   

• To contact Petal First UMC (418 S Main St., Petal, MS 39465) call 601-582-0440.
• To contact Asbury UMC (1331 Hwy 42, Petal, MS 39465) call 601-545-3006.

The Rev. Keith Gaughf, pastor at First UMC of Columbia is coordinating the work in and around the Marion County area.

• To contact Columbia First UMC (411 Church St,Columbia, MS 39429) call 601-736-7121.

The work in Hattiesburg is still hampered by debris-filled roads. As of February 14, the long-term response locations had not been identified because the preliminary assessments are inconclusive.
 

I have just been in contact with the Alabama West Florida Conference Disaster Response Coordinator.  Early reports are that most damage is located in the Mobile District.  At this time there has been no request for E.R.T. teams.  We will let you know if the situation changes.  Please remember the victims in your prayers.

Randy Burbank
Conference Disaster Response Coordinator

UMCOR cleaning buckets are urgently needed to resupply the Conference Disaster Response Warehouse.  

Click here to see the components of the cleaning buckets.

If your church or organization wishes to collect and drop off these items, please contact Rev. Ray Crump, Executive Director of the Conference Disaster Response Warehouse at raylcr@aol.com or 256-341-9961

- Matt

Rev. Matt Lacey, Director of Mission and Advocacy, North Alabama Conference

Volunteers in the Disaster Warehouse in Decatur are coordinating with UMCOR and the Sagar Brown Depot as United Methodists continue our work of responding to Hurricane Sandy.

This morning there was a request for all available disaster response materials in the North Alabama Conference area to be gathered at the  Disaster Warehouse in Decatur within the next 48 hours for an urgent shipment to be sent to the Northeast Jurisdiction.

If your church has already gathered cleaning buckets or other supplies, if possible please have them at the Decatur Warehouse by midday Friday to be part of this shipment.

The Disaster Warehouse is located at 3220 Hwy 31 So Building F, Decatur, AL 35603.

Directions:
From Birmingham

• Take I-65 North from Birmingham.
• Take the 334 Exit at Priceville/Decatur and turn left (West)
• Go 4.2 miles and turn left on Hwy 31 South
• Go 0.9 (9/10) mile and turn left between two Ford Dealer Car lots
• First brown building on your left. Come around back.

From Huntsville

• Take I-565 West to I-65 and go South across the TN river.
• Take the 334 Exit at Priceville/Decatur and turn right (West)
• Go 4.2 miles and turn left on Hwy 31 South
• Go 0.9 (9/10) mile and turn left between two Ford Dealer Car lots
• Come to the first brown building on your left. Come around back.
• If you get lost, call (256) 341-9961.

Go to www.umcor.org/ArticleDocuments/232/cleaningbucketkit11.pdf.aspx  to download the Cleaning Bucket Supply list.

Hurricane Sandy: How you can help

Cleaning Buckets

Your church can continue to collect cleaning bucket supplies and deliver them to the Disaster Warehouse in Decatur or the United Methodist Center in Birmingham. These supplies will be at the ready for future shipments.

You can also give through UMCOR. 

Support United Methodist efforts to help alleviate suffering through UMCOR. Every time you give to a designated emergency or program 100% of your gift supports the intended need. UMCOR does not use any of your designated gifts for administrative or home office costs-they are covered by other funding channels (such as the One Great Hour of Sharing Special Offering each year.)

To Give:

Write the Hurricanes 2012 Advance # 3021787 on your offering envelope and in the memo line of your check.
 

• By Offering - For local church and Annual Conference credit, put your gift in the offering plate on Sunday. Local Churches can then send the funds to the Annual Conference Treasurer's Office.
   
• By Check - Make your check to UMCOR and send to: UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087
   
• By Credit Card - Give online at www.methodistrelief.org
   
• You can also text the word RESPONSE to 80888 to give an immediate $10 donation.

Volunteers at the Disaster Warehouse in Decatur have been working with others across the country in response to Hurricane Sandy.

Rev. Ray Crump, Director of the U.M. Disaster Warehouse in Decatur, reports the warehouse’s current needs:

• Donation of Cleaning buckets (5 gallon with resalable lid) and Cleaning Bucket supplies 
   
• Volunteers to put together the cleaning buckets at the Disaster Warehouse in Decatur.
   
• 5,000 fingernail clippers
   
• 2 pallets of leather palm work gloves.

Please note:  The Disaster Warehouse is staffed by volunteers, so please call before making a delivery. Please call ahead and let volunteers know when you are coming.  Phone: (256) 341-9961. Do not leave cleaning buckets outside the building.

Download Cleaning Bucket supply list. 

The Disaster Warehouse is located at 3220 Hwy 31 So Building F, Decatur, Al 35603.

Directions:
From Birmingham

• Take I-65 North from Birmingham.
• Take the 334 Exit at Priceville/Decatur and turn left (West)
• Go 4.2 miles and turn left on Hwy 31 South
• Go 0.9 (9/10) mile and turn left between two Ford Dealer Car lots
• First brown building on your left.  Come around back.

From Huntsville

• Take I-565 West to I-65 and go South across the TN river.
• Take the 334 Exit at Priceville/Decatur and turn right (West)
• Go 4.2 miles and turn left on Hwy 31 South
• Go 0.9 (9/10) mile and turn left between two Ford Dealer Car lots
• Come to the first brown building on your left.  Come around back.

The Disaster Warehouse is the first brown building on the left, Building F. (3220 Hwy 31 So Building F, Decatur, Al 35603) If you get lost, call (256) 341-9961.

You may also deliver cleaning buckets and supplies to the United Methodist Center in Birmingham.  The United Methodist Center is on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College located just off US Interstate 20/59 at the Arkadelphia Road exit (123). The United Methodist Center is open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday.

What can you do to help Hurricane Sandy victims right now? Conferences on the East Coast have begun to request UMCOR Cleaning Buckets to help victims begin to clean their homes. If you or your church wants to make an impact, click here for the components and assembly instructions for the cleaning buckets. After assembly, these can be taken to the North Alabama Conference Center in Birmingham, or the Disaster Response Warehouse in Decatur, AL (3220 Hwy 31 South, Building F, Decatur, AL 35603, or click here for directions). Delivery to the Disaster Warehouse in Decatur, AL is preferred for faster deployment of items.

You can also give through UMCOR. Please help now. Please help in years to come. Click here to donate to UMCOR US Disaster Response, Advance #901670, and select Hurricanes 2012 from the drop-down menu. You can also text the word RESPONSE to 80888 to give an immediate $10 donation. If you have any questions, please let me know.

-Matt

Rev. Matt Lacey, Director of Mission and Advocacy, North Alabama Conference UMC
mlacey@northalabamaumc.org

The damage to areas of the Northeast has surpassed any prediction, but the United Methodist Church is working to be in action and compassion to those affected. You can click here for an UMCOR update, and to give to the relief fund, you can text text the word RESPONSE to 80888 to give an immediate $10 donation.

UMCOR's team is currently setting up a way to give online. You can also give by sending a check to the conference office, made out to the North Alabama Conference marked "Hurricane Sandy Relief."

- Matt

Rev. Matt Lacey, Director of Mission and Advocacy, North Alabama Conference

The Louisiana Conference is ready to welcome UMVIM teams to the clean-up from Hurricane Isaac.

Hurricane Isaac arrived on August 29, 2012 on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. And though Isaac did not bring about the amount of damage caused by Katrina, a reported 178,000 residences around the New Orleans area were hit. Hardest hit are many areas that were not usually in the flood prone areas.

As you know, volunteer teams provide both spiritual and physical support to those who are in need of friends. Volunteers bring the gift of God’s love as they swing hammers, gut homes, hang sheet rock while taking time to talk and laugh and hug those whose lives have been turned upside down. Your help can change lives and show the light of Christ in word and action.

We are currently organizing a team of case managers, a project manager, and a volunteer coordinator to oversee the work of response and repair. Several Early Response Teams have been hard at work following the storm. They will complete their initial response by September 30. The ongoing response phase will begin on October 1, 2012. We are now inviting our UMVIM friends to register to come to the Gulf Coast to help with this ongoing response. Every team must have a trained and certified UMVIM team leader but volunteers do not need to have ERT training.

Volunteer housing has been organized in five churches in close proximity to the worst hit areas. There will be cots, restrooms, kitchens, showers, and washers and dryers available for visiting groups. The case managers will be identifying those who need help the most, and the project manager will provide the guidance for the work to be done.

Volunteer today to serve on a disaster response team by visiting: http://www.la-umc.org/pages/detail/1761

We have received word that the Louisiana Conference have started registering Early Response Trained teams to respond to damage by Hurricane Isaac.  If you have a current ERT badge (ie. have completed the UMCOR ERT course in the last three years), please start making plans within your local churches by beginning to form teams and collect materials. Please visit the registration page at the Louisiana Conference website by clicking here or going to: http://www.la-umc.org/pages/detail/1761 

There is a cost associated with the response effort.  Teams are needed for construction and gutting of houses.  Please check the above link for more details.

If you have any questions, please contact me at mlacey@northalabamaumc.org

-Matt and Eric

Rev. Matt Lacey, Director of Mission and Advocacy, North Alabama Conference

Rev. Eric Bell, Disaster Response Coordinator, North Alabama Conference

We are told by officials in Louisiana that some of the people will NOT be able to get back in to their homes for four months.  All the water up north has to drain down the Mississippi River.

    Due to Hurricane Isaac and the Flooding in and around Selma, AL, the United Methodist Disaster Warehouse in Decatur is running low on

1. Volunteers to help in the Disaster Warehouse
    
2. Cleaning Buckets (formerly called Flood Buckets)  Do not put bleach in these buckets.  This has been removed by UMCOR.  The North Alabama Disaster Warehouse has plenty of insect repellant at this time, so please leave this out of the buckets.  We can add that after the buckets get to the warehouse.  For a contents list of a Cleaning Bucket click here.

Please come help!

Ray Crump
Executive Director
United Methodist Disaster Warehouse
 

The following is an update from the Louisiana Annual Conference concerning ERT teams and disaster response. As Larry notes, please allow the annual conference to issue a formal invitation before deploying teams into another annual conference. Myself and Rev. Eric Bell, the disaster response coordinator for our conference, will issue further updates as they come in. Thank you for your prayer and support for the victims of Hurricane Isaac. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at mlacey@northalabamaumc.org

- Matt

Rev. Matt Lacey, Director of Mission and Advocacy, North Alabama Conference.

Friends, we are very thankful for your messages of support and offers to help through ERT's and long term mission teams in these days after Isaac. We are still in the stages of evaluation and will be better prepared to receive you and make assignments toward the end of the week. It appears that much of the work with be mucking out and helping victims of the disaster to recover from flooding. You will understand that in some places we are still waiting for the flood waters to recede so that more accurate evaluations can be made. We will definitely need your help so please keep us in mind and in prayer. Announcements will be made soon regarding registration of teams and areas of need.

Larry D. Norman

Director LAVIM

This weekend, volunteers in the Disaster Warehouse in Decatur loaded up supplies to send to the UMCO Sagar Brown Depot to be used in response to Hurrican Isaac.

Rev. Ray Crum, Director of the Disaster Warehouse, noted "It is wonderful to have the things that are needed in times of disaster, to be able to help our fellow man!"

Click to see pictures!