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June 28, 2002: United Methodist disaster response coordinators, volunteers, and staff are monitoring, assessing, and responding to the needs of people affected by the fires in Arizona and Colorado. The immediate needs of people who have been evacuated in Arizona are being met by an outpouring of generosity from local communities. Some of the evacuees may not be able to return home for as long as a month. A local pastor who has been trained in disaster response has begun case management, working with individuals and families to determine the best way to meet their needs. The conference will need funding to assist people with temporary housing. In Colorado, UMCOR and the Salvation Army are working together to coordinate volunteers and response centers out of local United Methodist Churches across the state. United Methodists are working with other agencies and churches developing plans for long-term response and recovery. The Depot sent 400 health kits to Colorado for people who are staying in shelters. UMCOR also continues to respond to the flooding and tornadoes that have affected many parts of the United States. A grant was sent to the Western New York Conference to assist people affected by flash flooding on June 14 in Baldwinsville. Fifty homes were flooded. This did not receive a federal disaster declaration so people are not eligible for federal funds. In the Illinois Great Rivers Conference UMCOR staff are training people in case management as part of the long-term response to tornadoes and floods. Several counties in northern Minnesota have been declared disaster areas following recent flooding. A United Methodist disaster response team has been helping with clean up. Volunteers are urgently needed in Minnesota. Volunteers are also needed in North Carolina to rebuild houses that were destroyed in the flooding from Hurricane Floyd. State funds for rebuilding are being cut and families whose homes are not under contract will lose funding. Volunteers have to be in place before the families can sign contracts. Please call (800) 918-3100 if you can volunteer. To provide financial support to these response efforts, give to UMCOR's Domestic Disaster Response, Advance #901670-1.
Your gifts are urgently needed for UMCOR's International Disaster Response, Advance #982450-8 to enable UMCOR to respond to the emergencies and disasters people are facing in many parts of the world. UMCOR has sent small grants this week to the Republic of Georgia and Pakistan. Youth in Georgia who had been displaced by the civil war were displaced again in April by an earthquake. The youth house in Georgia is providing additional psychological assistance and recreational and educational activities for these youth. People living on the border of Pakistan and India are suffering because of the daily conflict and fighting in the area. Many have had to flee their homes. UMCOR funds are providing medicine and food for 137 families.Funds are needed to enable UMCOR to respond to the catastrophic flooding in China, the earthquake in Iran, and flooding in the Northern Caucausus region, Nicaragua, and Chile. Please give to Advance #982450-8, International Disaster Response.
