Mosaic Mennonites

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mennonite disaster service

Hurricane Sandy update from Mennonite Disaster Service

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Update from Rick Kratz at Mennonite Disaster Service–call him with questions, 267-372-4637.

Locally

We have been in touch with Montgomery County and have some people to follow up with about basement clean outs and such.

New York and New Jersey

I don’t have anything for New Jersey at this time but as things unfold we will pass that on.

Mennonite Disaster Service is investigating New York City with the Mennonite Churches of New York City to see how best we can be of service.  As we get more information and request for assistance I will pass that on to you.  At this time we are keeping a list of names of those who contact us about going up to help. Please provide me with any names and contact information of people interested in helping locally or up in New York City.  As we receive requests from New York we will put groups together and respond as requested.

Many people or organizations are asking about donations.  If people or organizations would like to donate to MDS we ask that they do so financially.

Donations can be sent to our local unit:

MDS of Eastern PA/NJ
P.O. Box 64794
Souderton, PA 18964

MDS photos from Staten Island

Tropical storm damage in Vermont is a 'disaster'

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By Sheldon C. Good, sheldon@mennoweekly.org
Mennonite Weekly Review

What is usually a small brook washed out this section of Route 100 in Plymouth, Vt., home of Bethany Birches Camp. — Photo by Brandon Bergey

Flood waters due to Tropical Storm Irene were subsiding by Sept. 6, but extensive devastation remained as cleanup and repairs began for Mennonites across Vermont, including some who were isolated for days.

The storm weakened as it made its way along the Atlantic sea­board the last weekend of August but dropped several inches of rain in just a few hours in many places.

In Vermont, raging rivers washed out hundreds of roads and damaged dozens of bridges.

More than a dozen Vermont towns, including Plymouth, home to the Mennonite-affiliated Bethany Birches Camp, became virtual islands.

“We are in the midst of a disaster,” said Randy Good, pastor of Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship, on Sept. 1, after the storm had pased. “Close by, people have lost their homes and businesses. We are continuing to become aware of the magnitude of things, and as we do, it is getting worse.”

Good and Gwen Groff, pastor of Bethany Mennonite Church, accounted for all of their members, though some evacuated their homes. Both meetinghouses as well as Bethany Birches Camp sustained little damage.

More than 60 percent of the 450 miles of Vermont state roads that were closed have reopened, The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 5.

Still, some roads remained closed. According to Google Crisis Response, parts of the main road that runs between the camp and the Bethany congregation were only open to authorized vehicles.

“Franconia Conference communities in?Vermont seem to be at the center of some of the most extensive damage,” said Stephen Kriss, director of communication for Franconia Mennonite Conference.

On Aug. 30, National Guard helicopters airlifted food, water and supplies to isolated towns, including Plymouth.The storm killed three people in Vermont and at least 55 total. Preliminary estimates put total losses along the East Coast at about $7 billion.

Brandon Bergey, executive director of Bethany Birches Camp, was using his motorcycle to get around.

He said most towns were setting up relief stations where people could get gas, food and water.

The local community, Bergey said, is drawing closer together.

“In a rural area like ours, it’s not always easy to connect with neighbors; now it’s easier,” he said.

“The destruction that will cost us a lot of work and discomfort — and for some, homes and most possessions — is helping us build relationships.”

Groff, pastor of the Bethany congregation, lives with her family in a parsonage next to the church. Though it sits along the Ottauquechee River, which overflowed its banks, the Groffs’ home received minimal damage.

Route 4, the main road between the Bethany and Taftsville congregations, will be closed for months, Good said.

“Some roadways that seemed passable have been found to have caves washed out underneath the roadway, and some have collapsed,” he said.

Dennis Bricker of Chambersburg, Pa., removes debris at Lennard DeWolfe’s home in Forkston, Pa. — Photo by Wilmer Martin

Six people from Franconia Conference congregations volunteered with MDS in Vermont Sept. 5-8. They removed debris and sorted through damaged buildings.

“The primary effort right now is simply getting wet materials out of homes,” said volunteer Ted Houser of Lancaster, Pa.

Houser noted the timeliness of their service: Mennonites worked on storm cleanup on Labor Day in Vermont, Pennsylvania and New York.

MDS executive director Kevin King said the organization is conducting assesments for long-term needs.?He said relief work in Vermont is “a challenge because of all the infrastructure that’s been destroyed.”

In other storm damage, the basement of New Beginnings Community Church of Bristol, Pa., a Franconia Conference congregation, flooded due to the recent storm.

Ertell Whigham, executive minister of Franconia Conference, said the church lost all of its educational resources, including computers.

Originally posted in Mennonite Weekly Review, September 1, 2011 and updated on September 6.  Reposted by permission.

Mennnonite Disaster Service responds to Missouri storms

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The storms hit Joplin, MO, Sunday afternoon; on Monday groups of local MDS volunteers were there helping chicken and turkey farmers by clearing access roads to damaged barns and moving live birds to other locations.

April was one of the most deadly months for tornados in years; May could turn out to be nearly as bad. Early reports after storms on Sunday put the death toll at over 80 in Joplin, with Search and Rescue teams still working.

MDS Disaster Response Coordinator, Jerry Klassen, arrived in Joplin on Monday, amid another storm pounding the already damaged area. He joined the MDS Missouri Unit leaders as they investigated how MDS may respond to the devastation.

The Missouri Unit has several trained Early Response Teams (ERT) that will arrive on Tuesday and begin tree removal, clean up and roof repairs in an area at the perimeter of the damage.

A group of volunteers from the Oklahoma MDS Unit will arrive on Friday to assist in the clean up. Joplin is not far from the Oklahoma border.

The MDS Arkansas Unit trained Search and Rescue Team (SART) was invited to the Joplin area to assist in search and rescue efforts there. Klassen reports “Some of the flattened area has been searched, you can tell by the markings. But some areas have not had Search and Rescue teams yet.” The SART will be given an area to search when they arrive.

Klassen noted that as they investigate and talk to survivors “There is a huge amount of shock and disbelief. We talked to one man who was distraught. His wife passed in December, he is disabled and now his house lies in shambles.”

The tornado did not hit only one area, “It hit the downtown area, industrial areas, businesses, big and small, and in rural, farming areas. And it hit a huge, huge amount of homes.”

The Missouri tornado follows a month of deadly tornados all over the US. MDS volunteers have been in Alabama since the April 27 tornados. The tornado takes only minutes to destroy; the clean up and rebuilding will take months or years. Currently MDS has two separate project locations in Alabama.

MDS Storm Aid is staffing a project in Phil Campbell, AL. The work there is clean up and they may begin the rebuilding phase soon.

The MDS project in Birmingham is running at full capacity with 40 volunteers every week. Clean up of trees and debris will be the major focus for some weeks, then repair and rebuilding. The project is expected to be open all summer and into the fall.