In late August and early September 2011 Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee hit the US east coast bringing strong winds and heavy rains. The storm systems came on back-to-back weekends (Irene on August 27-29 and Lee on September 3-5), causing many areas to be overrun with flooding. This was especially true in the northeast as Lee sat over the region from eastern Pennsylvania to New Jersey and Upstate New York dumping over a foot of rain on an already saturated area. Some rivers reached 17+ feet above flood level.

One year later, we look back on these disasters and remember those who were affected. It has been a long road with bright spots and bumps along the way. As a way of remembering these people and those who work on their behalf we would like to share with you updates from our affiliates who have being helping in the response.

New Jersey – Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Irene and Lee, Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey – with a $30,000 grant from Lutheran Disaster Response – positioned a temporary disaster recovery coordinator to work primarily in northern New Jersey. Kathryn “Trink” Schwartz served out of Morris County from November 2011 to May 2012. One of Trink’s major roles was to bring county leaders together to create a functioning long-term recovery committee. The Morris County Disaster Recovery Committee has been active since the spring and continues to care for ongoing unmet needs in the area.

With additional support from LDR, LSM/NJ created 100 flood buckets. During a fall 2011 youth event, middle-school students from the New Jersey Synod assembled the buckets, which are now strategically placed in churches throughout the state for use in future disasters. In addition $16,000 in LDR unmet needs grants have been distributed.

Upstate New York – Upstate New York Synod
During the latter part of 2011 and continuing through 2012, the Lutheran Disaster Response team for the Upstate New York Synod had the opportunity to experience, first hand, how their Synod comes together when people are in need. Irene and Lee struck 33 counties within New York State. These areas have been declared federal disaster areas. Congregations and individuals across the Synod responded in many different ways. Congregations helped and still continue to assist by feeding, providing shelter and sending work teams to the affected areas. Over 200 flood buckets were assembled by various congregations in the Synod and were distributed to persons in the affected areas. The Synod’s LDR team sponsored long term recovery training for five communities across upstate New York in the fall of 2011.

The focus of the Synod has been the Schoharie County area. Mud and muck have been cleaned out of homes and businesses. Rebuilding has started and still continues. Through the collaborative efforts of many faith based organizations and Schoharie Area Long Term, Inc. (SALT) the needs of hundreds of individuals that were displaced by the disaster have been facilitated. National LDR provided $75,000 to support SALT and our local Leadership Team’s efforts in responding to initial needs and in the first year of long term recovery. Individuals and congregations across our Synod raised another $36,000 including a $5,000 challenge grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. These dollars enabled SALT to purchase construction material to aid in the rebuilding of five homes in Schoharie County. Additionally, dollars were provided to two Lutheran congregations whose buildings were significantly damaged by the storms and supported several work teams from congregations including a spring break high school team organized through the collaborative efforts of Vanderkamp (www.vk.org/), an outdoor ministry in Cleveland, NY and King of Kings Lutheran Church in Liverpool, NY.

The work is far from done. Volunteers continue to be needed in the Schoharie County area as well as other locations in NY. Learn about volunteer opportunities through SALT at www.saltrecovery.org/.

Southeastern Pennsylvania – Liberty Lutheran Services
Liberty Lutheran Services’ Lutheran Disaster Response in eastern Pennsylvania program has been engaged in southeastern Pennsylvania, including the city of Philadelphia, since the event happened. Early on, they took leadership for the VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) training teams in cleaning out houses safely. LDR-Eastern PA then organized groups, which included volunteers from Americorps, TzuChi, churches and individuals, to do the cleanouts. Once it came time to move to long term recovery, Liberty Lutheran Services helped form the Montgomery County Resource and Recovery Committee. LDR has been participating in case management, damage assessment, and repairs. Throughout the process the agency has helped scores of homeowners to clean out, rebuild, or simply come to peace with the flooding they experienced.

Northeastern Pennsylvania – Lutheran Congregational Services
10 of the 14 counties served by Lutheran Congregational Services in northeastern PA were declared Federal Disaster Areas following Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Over 100,000 people applied for FEMA assistance. Long Term Recovery Groups formed in Bradford, Susquehanna, Luzerne, Schuylkill, Wyoming and Berks Counties. Even now a year later some properties have not been touched and these groups are seeking volunteers to muck and gut alongside putting houses back together.

To offer your services contact: Dianne Fox, Volunteer Coordinator at dianne@lutherancongregationalservices.org or 610.428.4598.

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Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond at home and globally in times of need. Donate now.

This is Pastor Michael Stadie, Director of Lutheran Disaster Response.

This past week, I had the opportunity to do a field visit to Minnesota. While there, I spent time with Nancy Beers of Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota (LSS-MN); Nancy is the Lutheran Disaster Response Coordinator for the state. She is also the Director of the Camp Noah program, a ministry that works with children following a disaster, helping them to heal by processing their disaster experiences. To find out more about this program and how it makes a positive impact on the lives of children, please check out their website at www.lssmn.org/camp_noah. With the help of new staff members they are already planning ways to help children impacted by the recent disasters around the county as well as preparing for whatever disasters may be around the corner.

While Lutheran Disaster Response continues to monitor the situation in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama following Hurricane Isaac, it is important that we not lose sight of other parts of the country which have been impacted by disasters this past year. As you may know, most disasters do not reach the level of a federally declared disaster, which is a necessary trigger for many funding resources. While these disasters may be considered “small” on a national stage, for those who were impacted, these disasters are “huge”. This is in-part why we say no matter how big or small a disaster and no matter how much help comes from outside a community, the response is always a local one.

An example from earlier this summer is when Barnum, Moose Lake and Duluth, Minnesota were impacted by flooding that did not receive a federal disaster declaration. Pastor Karen Bockelman, a former member of the Northeastern Minnesota synod, came out of retirement to help work with congregations and communities as they engaged in their recovery efforts. Although new to disaster work, Karen has a great grasp of the needs and is a great asset to the recovery efforts. Since federal assistance is not available, the state legislature held a special session to address the needs of those impacted by the disaster. As part of the assistance package, LSS-MN recently began providing disaster case management in the impacted areas. The LDR national office has also provided an initial grant to LSS-MN to help them begin their work. As they continue this work LDR will be there to help as needs arise.

This is a good example of how Lutheran Disaster Response and its affiliates are willing to assist even in the “small” disasters, and how the generosity of our donors, especially those who give to the undesignated disaster account, makes a significant impact in helping people to recover.

Please continue to remember the people in this part of Minnesota in your thoughts and prayers as they go through the recovery process.

Since 2001, the month of September has been designated by the U.S. government as National Preparedness Month. The purpose of this event it to highlight the importance of being ready in the case of a disaster. To help in this effort, the Federal Emergency Management Agency set up the site www.ready.gov to help people walk through what they consider the three steps of disaster preparedness: (1) build an emergency supply kit, (2) make a family emergency plan and (3) be informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses. To help set people see the power of preparedness they put together this interesting map of past disasters: Today is the Day Before.

The events of this past week with Hurricane Isaac making landfall on the Gulf Coast exactly seven-years after Hurricane Katrina serve as a double reminder of the importance of preparedness. Hurricane Katrina for the affects of non-preparedness and Isaac for how preparedness can and hopefully will continue to make a difference. Preparedness is not mean as a gaurantee that disaster will not reach us, but is meant to allow us to lessen the affects of disaster upon our lives. So that if we are affected we can respond appropriately, efficiently and effectively.

This is a big part of what ELCA Disaster Response, internationally and domestically (through Lutheran Disaster Response), is focused on doing. We are here to help people prepare for risks in their area and to respond when these risks (seen and unseen) become reality. So as we continue into this month please take time to create or re-check your family’s and your congregation’s emergency preparedness plan. Also, please consider gifts to ELCA Disaster Response to help us in our work of disaster preparedness and response.

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Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond at home and globally in times of need. Donate now.

Today marks the 7-year anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast. This landmark disaster has changed much about the way we repond to disaster, for Lutheran Disaster Response, our partners and our country’s government. Many of those lessons were hard-learned. Gaps in the system were learned and addressed in the midst of responding. Yet, from these trials there have been positive results.

As we take time today to pause and think back to the situation caused by Katrina in 2005 it seems appropriate to name some of the lessons learned. This is especially true as we are experiencing the landfall of Hurricane Isaac exactly 7 years later in this same region. (see photos at end of post)

Disaster Preparedness
One of the major lessons learned from Katrina was about what it meant to truly prepare for an incoming disaster. As we have been tracking the approach of Isaac (being on conference calls, following website postings, etc) it is clear that this region has been here before. People in charge are aware of what the situation may entail. The right organizations are talking to each other. Information is being shared in a timely and efficient manner.

And beyond this there are more tangible things like the story that Lutheran Disaster Response Director, Pastor Michael Stadie, shared with me. He was describing a news report from the French Quarter in New Orleans where the reporter was commenting on how much less debris there was blowing around and causing damage compared to Katrina. This lack of debris is in part due to better preparedness measures.

We Work Better Together
During Katrina a lot of disaster response agencies were all trying to do the same thing, meeting all of the needs they saw before them. This led to some areas getting double service while others were potentially missed. We have learned that working together through strong communications between our partners within the disaster resposne community and government agencies leads to a better, more effective, more efficient response. In the end of the day this means that more people will gain better services when they need them.

The Effects Extend Beyond the News Coverage
During Katrina the city of New Orleans captivated our attention as we saw with probably disbelief the damage nature can wreak, as well as the human-cause disasters that can arise when the response is not effective or timely. Yet we learned that both in time and geographic scope the effects of a disaster extend beyond what is covered by the media. During Katrina the areas around the Gulf Coast, from eastern Texas to Mobile, AL to Pensecola, FL felt the affects and were in need of response. Also, even seven years later there is still work that has just recently begun winding down in response to Katrina.

As we await the assessment of Isaac, we know that where we respond will be over a larger area than what is covered in the national media and will extend far beyond the time that the cameras are there. This is also a place where Lutheran Disaster Resposne has found a niche as we work to coordinate volunteers many months and years after a disaster. We also work through our affiliate network to help communities setup and manage their Long Term Recovery Committees that help address unmet needs as they arise.

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As we look into the future and the disaster it will inevitably bring, let us pause to give rememberance to Hurricane Katrina, the damage it caused and the hard lessons it taught us. May God grant us wisdom to learn from them and the patience and strength needed to put them into practice.

Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. Click for larger image.

Hurricane Issac on August 29, 2012. Click for larger image.

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Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond at home and globally in times of need. Donate now.

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Yesterday afternoon Tropical Storm Isaac swept through Haiti’s southern peninsula, bringing with it heavy rains (over a foot in some areas) and hundred-plus mile per hour winds. It wreaked havoc on the nation as it still works to recover from the massive earthquake of 2010. The storm is also threatening to bring the same level of rain and wind to Cuba and southern Florida.

ELCA Disaster Response has been in contact with our companions in Haiti as they assess the situation and possible needs and responses. In Florida we have also been in contact with our Lutheran Disaster Response affiliates as they work to prepare for potential damages.

Please keep all those affected by this new tropical storm in prayer as they work to perpare and respond. As we learn more about the situation and possible responses we will keep you informed.

If you would like to support the response to these disasters, or those like them, you can donate to either Haiti Relief or U.S. Hurricanes. These gifts help us to respond immediately and effectively when disasters strike domestically and internationally.

This is Pastor Michael Stadie, Program Director for Lutheran Disaster Response with another field report.

Last week, I spent two days in Joplin, Missouri. Duane Moudy and Jim Eckrich from Lutheran Family and Children’s Services (LFCS) of Missouri were my hosts. While there are not many Lutherans in the Joplin area, Duane’s work in the community has raised the visibility of Lutheran Disaster Response a great deal; Duane is a key player in the Joplin Recovery efforts. Jim, a long time LDR Coordinator manages the Disaster Case Management Contract for LFCS. LFCS has subcontracted with several other agencies to provide these services.

Driving through the areas impacted by the May 2011 tornado, one can easily see Joplin is in full rebuilding mode. Many homes and businesses have been rebuilt; and there is a lot of construction work going on all over the impacted area. But interspersed among the completed homes are many empty lots and even whole blocks that have weeds growing up on them. Duane shared that most of these lots were rental homes where the landlord decided not to rebuild.
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