Home
Contact Us
Newsletter
Calendar
Committees/Links
Churches
Supply
Ministers
Mission
Communities
Resources
OlderAdultMin
Youth Council
Links
|
|
Notices and
Bulletins - Hurricane Katrina
August 30, 2005 - PDA Katrina Update
September 8, 2005 - PDA Newsbrief
September 12, 2005 - Virginia Evacuees
September 26, 2005 - Situation Report
|
8/30/2005
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
on Katrina
Situation Report Update - Hurricane Katrina
Post-hurricane damage in Mississippi and Louisiana
is massive and unprecedented.
Flooding in Mississippi was devastating for at
least six miles inland. Biloxi and other coastal communities
were hit by a 25-foot storm surge and we have received a report
that there are no houses unaffected in the city of Biloxi.
Two new levee breaches sent water from Lake Pontchartrain
coursing through the eastern part of New Orleans. Local officials
estimated that 80 percent of the city was flooded, with some areas
under 20 feet of water.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has committed
an immediate $500,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing and undesignated
funds to respond to the needs of disaster survivors and to support
the deployment of members of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Team (PDAT) to help presbyteries, congregations and communities
organize their response. Eight members of the team are already
actively engaged in the response, and eight more have moved as close
to the affected areas as possible to be available to go into the affected
areas when conditions and the government allow entry.
Hurricane Katrina is one of the most destructive
hurricanes ever to hit the United States. There have been estimates
that the damage could cause between $10 and $25 billion. PDA has issued
an appeal for $10 million to help in this response and is committed
to working in a coordinated effort with other Christians to extend our
response as far as possible.
Please join us as we offer our prayers for the
people affected by this disaster * those who have lost family members
and friends; those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed; and
those who have lost livelihoods. Please also join us in prayer
for faithful Presbyterians and others who are giving of their time,
talents, and treasure to minister to those in need.
Those wishing to respond financially may do so
by designating gifts for one of the following disaster response
accounts:
U.S. Hurricane Response,
DR000169
Pastoral Care, DR000161
Church Damage, DR000163
Donations may be sent through normal mission giving
channels. Gifts by credit card can be made by calling PresbyTel
at (800) 872-3283 or online at www.pcusa.org/pda/donate/accounts.htm.
Checks payable to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
can also be mailed directly to:
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Individual Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700
|
September 26, 2005
Situation Report
Hurricane Rita
DR000169
Hurricane Rita slammed into the Gulf Coast at Sabine Pass in the border
between Louisiana and Texas packing 120 mph winds and dumping more than 20
inches of rain on East Texas and South Louisiana. New Covenant Presbytery
Executive Mike Cole is anxiously awaiting word on the state of the churches
in Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange, Texas. We have not yet received
word
of the storm's effects on Lake Charles, Louisiana and the area south
of New Orleans. Flooding is widespread.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Team (PDAT) member Bill Neely, Pastor
of First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, NC, is traveling to New Covenant
Presbytery (Houston, TX) to begin the early assessment process and provide
support and pastoral care; bringing words of hope from the PC(USA).
Rev. John A. Robinson, Jr., PDA National Associate, is already on his way
to Baton Rouge to meet with the Presbytery of South Louisiana and give
support to the PDA Team that has been in place since early September: Rev.
Bobb Barnes, George and Marian MacNeill, Rev. Kristine Peterson and Rev.
Dick Krajeski. Rev. Jim Kirk will also be arriving Monday, September
26th to begin a long-term deployment in South Louisiana Presbytery.
PDA continues support for volunteer efforts in Mississippi Presbytery,
and all six Presbyteries in Florida are still in the midst of recovery
from the series of Hurricanes that battered that state in 2004.
PDA stands ready to support presbyteries in responding to the unprecedented
dislocation and devastation from the 2005 hurricane season, and in bringing
Hope out of chaos.
Those wishing to respond financially may do so by designating gifts for
U.S. Hurricane Response, DR000169.
|
Presbyterian Disaster
Assistance (PDA) responds to Hurricane Katrina devastation
FOR MORE INFORMATION (working media only) : Pamela Burdine: 502-569-5839
or pburdine@ctr.pcusa.org
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2005)--Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA)
relief and recovery teams have been deployed across five southern states
in response to the destruction and human suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina
and the flooding that followed.
With the storm’s Gulf Coast landfall last week, PDA created a $500,000
fund to initiate relief efforts immediately and simultaneously issued a
$10 million appeal to its 2.4 million members nationwide. (PDA is a non-profit
relief and recovery program of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Since 1946,
it has provided field-trained disaster teams, financial assistance and human
services annually to an average of 35 countries on five continents.)
Contributions can be made by calling 1-800-872-3283 or via the website,
www.pcusa.org/pda
The Katrina response being coordinated by the PDA headquarters in Louisville,
Ky., with field operations in Baton Rouge; Mobile; Gulfport; Houston; Panama
City, Fla.; Jackson and Ocean Springs, Miss.; Ferncliff, Ark, Winchester,
Va., and additional sites. Working in conjunction with Red Cross and FEMA
teams as well as scores of Presbyterian churches throughout the South, PDA
activities are focused on stabilization of living conditions in affected
areas and long-term recovery/rebuilding efforts.
"Our first goal is to help displaced and homeless people get into the
system so they can be eligible for aid and reconnect with loved ones,"
said PDA Coordinator Susan Ryan. "Until that happens, the true scope of
need remains unknown."
Ryan said the PDA response has been assembled as relief effort that
could last several years.
PDA simultaneously is attempting to locate church pastors missing since
the storm peaked. More than 250 Presbyterian Churches are located within
the impacted areas of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, and their
participation is critical to local relief efforts. In New Orleans, four
pastors remain unaccounted for out of 30 in the city.
"We’re using all the tools available to try to find them and ensure
their safety," said Ryan.
Meanwhile, PDA relief and recovery efforts expand hourly as new personnel
and resources reach staging areas and field teams.
* To coordinate volunteer recruitment and assignment, PDA has established
a call center at the Ferncliff (Ark.) Camp and Conference Center. Persons
wishing to volunteer for active field duty throughout the Gulf area should
call 1-866-732-6121.
* On its website, www.pcusa.org/pda PDA has established a reconnect
bulletin board for church members trying to locate displaced individuals
and for evacuees who want to advise family and friends of their new location.
* Up to 15 self-sufficient staging camps are being created in the Gulf
region to support relief teams for service throughout the most-damaged areas.
Erected and supplied at a cost of approximately $150,000 each, the camps
include dormitories, shower facilities and mess tents for up to 150 volunteers.
* PDA has made an initial commitment of $10,000 to help pay crew salaries
on the three Carnival cruise ships docked in Galveston, Tex. and Mobile,
Ala. PDA is also coordinating the services of health care professionals who
specialize in the needs of the 7000 elderly and special needs evacuees expected
to be housed on the ships.
* Working with the Norwegian Church Aid organization it partnered with
in relief efforts to areas impacted by the south Asian tsunami, PDA is coordinating
the importation from Norway of site engineering technology and expertise
for advanced water purification. The team currently is located in Jackson,
Miss.
* A warehouse has been set up in Houston to distribute Personal Hygiene
kits and "Hope in a Box" kits for children. The warehouse will serve evacuees
at Texas relocation sites. A second warehouse operation is being made operational
in Atlanta.
* PDA has accelerated development of a disaster relief equipment and
supply warehouse in Little Rock, Ark. Originally planned to serve future
relief needs in the Gulf region and tornado alley, the facility is being
fast-tracked to be operational for the Katrina response.
* Debris-clearing teams created by Presbyterian church members are being
coordinated and supported throughout the storm damage area.
In addition to its Hurricane Katrina response, PDA has disaster relief
programs on-going in Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Malawi,
Niger, Sudan and the tsunami region.
ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION (working media only):
Overall coordinator: Susan Ryan: 1-888-728-7228-5850 ext. 5840 (sryan@ctr.pcusa.org)
Field Coordinator: John Robinson : 540-722-0463 ; 540-327-1270 (cell)
|
UPDATE ON KATRINA
EVACUEES
Virginia chapters of the American Red Cross have reported assisting
3,949 individuals who evacuated from the Gulf Coast region. The Federal
Emergency Management Agency reports
3,038 families have provided a current Virginia address when registering
for Katrina-related
tracking and assistance. They may be sheltering with friends, family,
or staying at a hotel - or
they may have simply provided a Virginia address to receive information
and assistance.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the impact of Tropical Storm
Ophelia, the organized
evacuation of large numbers of Gulf Coast state residents to any mid
Atlantic state, including
Virginia's intake and temporary shelter facility at Fort Pickett near
Blackstone, has been
temporarily suspended. The state is prepared to assist up to 1,000 individuals
at a time at Fort
Pickett and an additional 400 people at the nearby Virginia United Methodist
Assembly Center.
Additionally, living space for approximately 1,600 individuals has been
identified at 4-H camps, college dormitories, and church retreats. In addition,
local, state, faith-based and non-profit groups have identified thousands
of individual homes or other properties that could be tapped for longer-term
housing options for evacuees, including 1,600 hotel rooms offered today
by members of the Virginia Hospitality & Travel Association.
Finally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today that
it has approved Governor Warner's request for 100% federal reimbursement
of state and local government expenses incurred in the Hurricane Katrina
evacuation.
http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/profiles/mahlerp.htm
PCUSA Haiti Partnership Facilitator
1022 Floyd St.
Lynchburg, VA 24501
434-845-1754
|
|
|
