Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is closely monitoring Hurricane Sally as the slow-moving storm makes landfall in southern Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle.
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 the eyewall of Hurricane Florence passed over the Rev. Dr. Doug Cushing’s home in Leland, North Carolina, on the morning of Friday, Sept. 14, it was as if someone “had opened a firehose.”
While Hurricane Florence dominated media coverage in the U.S., the most intense storm of the year battered the Philippines, Guam, the Marshall Islands, China and Hong Kong, causing extensive damage, loss of life, landslides and severe flooding to residents. Super Typhoon Mangkhut battered the northern Philippines with wind speeds up to 175 miles per hour, more powerful than a Category 5 hurricane. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is working with its area partners, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and ACT Alliance, to assess the damage and deliver timely response actions.
As news comes in of the devastating effects of Hurricane Florence in North Carolina and South Carolina, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance 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 along the Atlantic coast and the inland areas of the Carolinas,” says the Rev. Dr. Laurie Kraus, PDA director. “Right now, we need the church’s prayers and financial assistance.”
It’s been a year since a trio of hurricanes wreaked havoc on Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, leaving a path of destruction, major power outages and many people without homes. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in quick succession, pummeled their targets over several days late last summer.
As the 2017 hurricane season draws to a close, the bulk of the work for this year’s storm season is just beginning for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. To help in that effort, PDA has hired David L. Myers as senior advisor for PDA’s 2017 hurricane recovery.
eaching remote, mountainous communities in the western part of Puerto Rico can be challenging. Downed trees and power lines along with mudslides have kept many roads closed. But for the narrow roads that are open, there is barely enough room for one car.
After a day of worship at Presbyterian churches in and around San Juan, members of a Presbyterian Disaster Assistance delegation began meeting with church leaders and assessing the damage from Hurricane Maria this week.
