United Methodists Help with Recovery from Hurricane Floyd

By Linda Bloom

Date: March 6, 2000

United Methodists involved with Hurricane Floyd relief efforts in North Carolina and Virginia predict that recovery will take two to five years. The denomination has established full-time recovery operations in those states since the hurricane tore through last fall. Carrying out the work will require more funding and more volunteer teams.

House on beach damaged by Floyd

Several homes along the North Carolina beach were damaged by the hurricane force winds and high water of Hurricane Floyd. Volunteers are needed to repair and rebuild homes. Photo By Dave Saville/FEMA News Photo

"We need the volunteers because that's the only way we're going to be able to help these people rebuild," said Barbara Tripp, coordinator of disaster response for the United Methodist North Carolina Annual Conference. "To have volunteers, we have to have places for them to stay and materials for them to work with."

Ward Smith, field staff with the Board of Global Ministries, reported "tremendous need remains throughout the region. Much is being accomplished by the beneficial volunteers, and many teams plan to return for the second and third time in coming months."

More Storm Recovery Money Needed

However, the Churchwide Appeal for Major Storm Devastation '99 "did not produce as much money as anticipated," said the Rev. Butch Huffman, North Carolina's director of volunteers in mission. "It's just a drop in the bucket for what we need." The appeal, from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), covers aid efforts in the wake of hurricanes Dennis, Floyd and Irene.

The North Carolina Conference alone has set a $1.3 million budget for its Floyd recovery work this year, Huffman said. But only $790,000 had been raised through the churchwide appeal as of February, according to the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, UMCOR's disaster response coordinator. UMCOR has received $2.2 million in funding requests from six areas affected by the hurricanes.

"We're really at a huge deficit for what is needed," he told United Methodist News Service. "For some reason, funding has not come in on this churchwide appeal."

Donations might have been slowed by an announcement last fall that Duke University was making $6 million available from its endowment to the North Carolina Conference, he said. But that money, he explained, applies only to church facilities and not to recovery efforts for the general public.

The funding requests include $1.3 million for North Carolina, $530,000 for Virginia, $50,000 for New Jersey and $36,000 for Florida. Two requests also have been received from the Bahamas. UMCOR directors will act on the requests during the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries meeting in early April.

Hazelwood said the conferences probably would end up with about 30 percent of what they requested from UMCOR, although he hopes to fund fully the $50,000 request.

The conferences also have been raising funds on their own. North Carolina raised $1.3 million for its flood recovery efforts, and the Western North Carolina Annual Conference working in the Tarboro-Princeville-Rocky Mount area has raised $1.6 million, giving $186,000 of that amount to the North Carolina Conference.

The Virginia Conference has received more than $500,000 and has disbursed more than half of that amount already. "We use vouchers," said the Rev. Frank Jennings. "We don't give dollars to anybody."

In fact, 72 percent of 351 families registered with the Virginia Conference Disaster Response Team have received vouchers for food, clothing, furniture, appliances, building supplies and other needs related to the flood.

How to Contribute

Donations for the churchwide appeal can be made to UMCOR, designated to Advance #982460-1. Checks can be dropped into church collection plates or mailed to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card donations can be made by calling 1-800-554-8583.

The North Carolina Conference warehouse also is accepting donations of materials, ranging from Sheetrock to tools. For specific needs, call Leland Heath at (919) 739-9167.