Megan Brandsrud

​Early Sunday morning, Aug. 24, an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit the San Francisco Bay Area. The earthquake, which was the largest seismic event in the area since a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in 1989, injured 120 people, triggered fires and power outages, and left significant damage to properties.

Napa Valley Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Napa, Calif., has reported some structural damage that it received as a result of the earthquake. Building inspectors and insurance agents will be visiting the church in the next few days to evaluate the extent of the damage.

Lutheran Social Services of Northern California, our Lutheran Disaster Response local affiliate, is assessing the situation and gathering reports of damages that were sustained in the area as a result of the earthquake. We will continue to review the situation and be in contact with Lutheran Social Services of Northern California and our local congregations and synod to see how we may be able to provide assistance.

“The thoughts and prayers of the Lutheran Disaster Response network are with those injured and affected by the earthquake,” says the Rev. Michael Stadie, program director for Lutheran Disaster Response. “We are monitoring the situation and standing by to provide help to the impacted communities as they begin the process of recovery.

Megan Brandsrud

​In June, eastern South Dakota experienced severe weather ranging from record downpours to a tornado.

Heavy rains lead to flooding

During the night of June 16, Lincoln County received 8.5 inches of rain, which means it received a full month’s worth of rain in one evening. This significant rainfall, paired with continued rain storms throughout the region during the following two weeks, caused riverbanks to overflow, lower levels of homes to flood, sewers to backup and more than 12 farms to be flooded.

In the town of Canton, in Lincoln County, highways and roads leading into the town were completely flooded, which made it difficult for rescue and emergency-response vehicles to provide service to the approximately 1,300 households that were impacted by the flooding.

In addition to the homes and businesses in Canton that experienced negative effects from the flooding, the oldest Norwegian Lutheran church in the state, Canton Lutheran (an ELCA congregation), was severely damaged in the flood.

Tornado destroys, damages homes

On June 18, an EF-2 tornado went through Wessington Springs, a town in Jerauld County, destroying dozens of homes and businesses. Wessington Springs has 1,000 residents that comprise 485 households. Of those 485 homes, 43 were damaged, 12 were totally destroyed and another 12 were left uninhabitable.

(Pictured: A view of Wessington Springs after the tornado.)

Lutheran Disaster Response has committed an initial $100,000 to Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota to assist in long-term recovery efforts that are following these June storms. Long-term recovery efforts will include disaster case management to work with people who were impacted by the disasters to connect them with necessary resources so they can return to their “new normal.” Recovery projects will also include construction management in Canton and Wessington Springs to assist in the repair and rebuilding of homes.

We will work hand-in-hand with the people of eastern South Dakota as they recover and rebuild after being impacted by severe weather. Thanks to your generosity in undesignated gifts, Lutheran Disaster Response is able to provide help when and where it is most needed.

If you would like to support Lutheran Disaster Response’s work in providing hope and healing to those who have been impacted by disaster, please visit the Lutheran Disaster Response giving page.

Megan Brandsrud

Since October 2013, approximately 60,000 children from Central America have crossed borders to arrive in the United States. This mass migration of children has garnered international media attention, and with it, a lot of contradictory information. So what is actually happening with this crisis at the border? Recently, a group from the ELCA traveled to the U.S. Texas/Mexico border to learn about the situation first-hand. The trip included visits with U.S. Border Patrol, social workers, pastors, an attorney, and the refugee children themselves.

(Pictured: Danny Martinez, an agent for U.S. Border Patrol, gives a presentation about the U.S. Border Patrol’s work.)

Listed below are just five myths and their corresponding facts that tell what is really happening at the border. For further detail, and for more myths and facts, please read the Unaccompanied and Migrant Children –Myths vs. Facts resource.

MYTH: Border crossings are on the rise.

FACT: Border crossings are actually down from where they were in the 1990s, when more than 1.5 million people would come to the U.S. every year.

U.S. border apprehensions overview:

2000: 1,675,438 people

2008: 723,825

2013: 420,789

MYTH: These kids are here illegally.

FACT: Most of these kids are seeking out and surrendering themselves to U.S. Border Patrol; they are not running. When a child comes into contact with U.S. Border Patrol, Border Patrol has 72 hours to process him or her. If possible, the child is repatriated. If not, the child is processed and given a “Notice to Appear” (NTA), which references his or her court date. Because of this processing, the child is neither here undocumented nor illegally.

The ELCA and other humanitarian organizations are caring for children who are awaiting review of appeals for asylum or protection and for those who have been released from detention to join family or sponsors.

MYTH: These kids are carrying drugs and are just here to cause trouble.

FACT: Drug-related violence and exploitation is a primary reason these children flee. Drugs are being run by drug cartels, not by children from Central America who are seeking asylum.

Most of these children are seeking out and surrendering to U.S. Border Patrol in order to receive protection from exploitation and other risks. When asked why they left their homes, children say they were hungry or their parents sent them to try to protect them from being recruited into the gang violence and trafficking in their communities. They are not troublemakers; they are trying to avoid trouble.

MYTH: These kids have diseases that they will spread to us and our kids in school.

FACT: Lutheran Social Services of the South has cared for approximately 6,000 unaccompanied children in the past year, and they report fewer than a dozen children who have needed more than routine medical care. The primary health issues these children are receiving care for include dehydration, the common cold and dental needs.

MYTH: Taxpayers are paying for these kids to reunite with their families.

FACT: When unaccompanied children are released from detention facilities while their cases are reviewed and resolved, they are released to a family member or a sponsor. They are not released until their transportation is paid for either by themselves or their family or sponsor. Often, family members send money and a bus voucher is given to be redeemed for a ticket at the bus station.

If you would like to support Lutheran Disaster Response’s work with Unaccompanied and Migrant Children, please visit theLutheran Disaster Response giving page.

Megan Brandsrud

​The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic a “worldwide health emergency.” The virus, which started in Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, has now spread to Nigeria. It is being reported that more than 1,770 people have been infected with the Ebola virus, with approximately 961 having died as a result.

Lutheran Disaster Response, in partnership with Global Health Ministries and the Lutheran Church in Liberia, assisted in theshipment of personal protective equipment to Phebe Hospital and Curran Lutheran Hospital in Liberia. The personal protective equipment, which consists of hazmat suits with hoods and boots and disinfectant, is scheduled to arrive at Roberts International Airport in Liberia on Saturday, Aug. 9.

(Pictured: Shipment of personal protective equipment being sent to Phebe Hospital and Curran Lutheran Hospital in Liberia.)

We continue to gather information from our partners and our global companion churches in West Africa as we earnestly pray for healing and relief from this deadly virus. We will walk with our brothers and sisters who are facing the risks of the Ebola virus as we add our efforts to the international community that is working to contain the virus.

If you would like to support Lutheran Disaster Response’s work in providing assistance against the Ebola virus disease in West Africa, please visit the Lutheran Disaster Response giving page.