Tennessee Update

Dear friends in Christ,

Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) continues to work with interfaith and community disaster responders as relief and recovery efforts develop and grow in the Midwest and Southeast. The major spring storms include innumerable tornadoes and resulting floods.

As I receive field reports from our local LDR coordinators, I want to share parts with you. I also want to add special thanks go to the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation, which is making funds available to local community service staff to participate in these responses.

John Sims (LDR coordinator, Lutheran Services in Tennessee) writes this report:

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Early assessment on TN tornado damage, including lives lost in Morgan County, is underway.

As of June 3, 2003, the southeast Tennessee VOAD is organizing a long-term recovery committee to meet the emerging needs of flood victims in the region and especially in Hamilton County. LDR-TN is "sitting at the table" in this third active disaster recovery of the year.

The need is just now becoming evident as victims are finding out that what looked OK after mucking out their homes aren't OK. With the FEMA deadline July 7, the 1,132 registrations in Hamilton County are likely to grow as mold develops, etc. (there are more flooded homes in adjacent counties).

1) In The Plateau Region: Recovery is now in the latter stage of completion. "Camp Noah" is being planned and volunteers are being recruited. Publicity is going out through the radio, TV, and newspapers. A lot of things have to be done before the July 14-18 camp!

2) West Tennessee: Bob Loftis is the "on-site" LDR-TN representative. Both he and I have attended recover meetings in Jackson, and promised LDR's active long-term support. The Jackson Area Ministerial Association (JAMA) is the base group for recovery at this time, and some of those people were involved in the '99 tornadoes. The West Tennessee recovery is expected to be very long-term. Will Rabert (Church World Service) reports that in the ten-county area 3,847 structures are estimated destroyed or damaged.

3) Chattanooga flooding: Much of the flooding receded as quickly as it came in. This is the worst it has been in years, with a figure of 1,600 people displaced initially. In Hamilton County 1,132 registrations have now been filed with FEMA.

LDR/TN is making up for 3 years of no major disasters with 3 recoveries ongoing in one year!

John Sims
Lutheran Disaster Response/Tennessee Coordinator

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To contribute:

ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response - "Midwest Tornadoes"
PO Box 71764
Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764

Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via the web: www.elca.org/disaster

LC-MS World Relief and Human Care - "Midwest Tornadoes"
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810

Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438

Yours in Christ,

Gil Furst

Gilbert B. Furst (written on July 3, 2003 at 2:50 p.m.). Director for ELCA Domestic Disaster Response (Division for Church in Society) and Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LC-MS) 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2822 FAX: 773-380-2493 Please visit our new website