The scene was not unfamiliar to Greg Smith, a member of the National Response team for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, as he assessed damage in Taylorville, Ill. early in December.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance uses terms like “unprecedented” and “all-encompassing” when referring to the destructive fires still burning both in Northern and Southern California – especially the Camp Fire that destroyed much of Paradise, Calif., a fire that had claimed at least 79 lives as of Tuesday and destroyed more than 10,000 homes.
Despite the heat and humidity, as many as 7,000 Central American migrants are still making their way slowly northward from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador into Mexico. The latest reports estimate they are still more than 1,100 miles from the U.S. border.
Two Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) National Response Teams (NRT) returned from deployment recently in southern Georgia and northwest Florida. They were there to assist in the recovery efforts after Hurricane Michael swiftly blew through the Florida panhandle and southern Georgia as a strong Category 4 storm earlier this month. The teams deployed into Flint River Presbytery and the Presbytery of Florida, where they made damage assessments in coordination with presbytery executives, worshipped with church members, assisted with short-term disaster response plans and identified opportunities for volunteers to help clean up the mess left behind.
Church congregations throughout Coastal Carolina Presbytery are struggling to repair their own buildings and meet the many needs in their congregations and communities following Hurricane Florence.
As news comes in of the devastating effects of Hurricane Michael, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is organizing a response that will help sustain life and restore hope in the coming days. “Our hearts break and rise up in prayer for the people of northern Florida, Georgia and southeast Alabama,” says Laurie Kraus, PDA director. “Right now, we need the church’s prayers and financial assistance.”
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) sent three National Response Teams (NRT) into North Carolina and South Carolina in the wake of severe flooding caused by Hurricane Florence. The teams deployed into the presbyteries of Coastal Carolina, New Harmony and New Hope to make initial damage assessments, meet with presbytery staff and pastors in the affected areas, and be a presence for those affected by the storm’s extreme rainfall amounts and wind damage. Flooding and loss of housing, particularly for those most vulnerable, are the biggest short-term concerns for residents of the impacted areas.
Pastor Richard Rojas describes walking into his sanctuary at Puerto Nuevo Presbyterian Church after Hurricane Maria and sitting down and crying. The Category 4 storm hit his church in Puerto Rico hard. Roofs were torn off adjacent buildings, a metal fence lie twisted on the street in front of the church, and there was water damage in the sanctuary.
