Prayer and power tools are at work in Louisiana helping residents recover from disastrous floods of 2016.
The floods of 2016 may have disappeared from news headlines, but communities all across Louisiana continue to rebuild.
The United Methodist Church has continued to respond and has uniquely positioned itself to help flood survivors from Monroe to Baton Rouge, Denham Springs to Lafayette and anywhere the church is called to help.
“The United Methodist Church is known to be the last ones to leave,” says Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey. “We will be here as long as we have money to help and to provide recovery. The recovery that the church provides is the recovery for those who have exhausted all other resources.”
The web site (www.LouisianaDisasterResponse.com) serves as a portal for those who wish to give financially to the relief efforts or volunteer to help in the rebuilding.
The Need is Great
In March of 2016, most of the parishes in North and South Louisiana were slammed with up to 11 inches of rain, causing rivers to swell and thousands of homes to flood.
As the state moved forward to recover from the disaster, in August of this year, much of South Louisiana received record amounts of rain in two days—an estimated six TRILLION gallons of water. The swollen bodies of water topped their banks once again, and some homeowners flooded for the second time in six months.
The statistics from the Floods of 2016 are staggering. An estimated 90 percent of the homes in the Denham Springs area flooded. There are 60,000 FEMA applicants in East Baton Rouge parish, alone.
The devastation is hard to imagine. According to Debra T. Davis, Ph.D., who is serving the Louisiana Conference as the new Disaster Response Director, the Conference is in the recovery for the “long haul.” “It is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” said Davis, who is responsible for the coordination of the overall response to the spring floods and the August 2016 floods that devastated Louisiana.
Currently, the Louisiana Conference Disaster Response efforts is working with funds obtained through United Methodist Committee on Relief grants and donations from individuals, churches and other United Methodist conferences. In addressing the devastation caused by the spring floods, the response is working with $330,000 from UMCOR and more than $72,000 collected during offerings and donations through the Louisiana Conference. “We are targeting specific parts of North and even parts of South Louisiana that were affected.”
The August floods, which impacted more homes, will be addressed with a budget that combines $510,000 from UMCOR and more than $537,000 donated by conferences, individuals and churches.
How You Can Help
Without the labor power provided by volunteer construction and assistance teams, it will be impossible to complete the tremendous amount of work needed to get people back into their flooded homes.
Just as important are the financial gifts from individuals, churches, United Methodist conferences and others that will help pay for needed materials for each rebuild.
“Gifts of money are critical to drive the response. We do not, however, have a way to use donations of materials. Because of the two flooding periods, warehouse space is currently at a minimum. And getting the right materials to the right job site is a tremendous challenge. It is more helpful if we can purchase needed supplies with the use of financial gifts,” said Debra T. Davis, Ph.D., who is serving the Louisiana Conference as the new Disaster Response Director.
“These are more than just houses!” says Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey. “The word ‘home’ is really important right now as people just simply don’t have a sense of place and having a sense of place is part of our DNA as human beings. So, this work is just incredibly important and critical to the value of people, and in a larger sense, community.”
If you feel compelled to help the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, please visit our web site: www.LouisianaDisasterResponse.com
Last Updated on December 13, 2016