HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n Baptist Disaster Responders Stay Busy in US

By Aaron Weaver and Carrie McGuffin B

aptists in the United States have stayed busy in 2015, providing immediate aid as well as long-term

recovery in the aftermath of a series of tornadoes, floods and even a snowstorm. Texas Baptists, known widely for

their top-notch disaster response efforts, have focused on providing relief in their own communities in recent months after several tornadoes and devastating floods struck the state. “This year, the state of Texas was hit

very hard with massive flooding and a series of

tornadoes during the spring

months of 2015,” said Marla Bearden, disaster recovery specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. “Texas Baptist Disaster Recovery volunteers have responded heavily in the Central Texas areas of Hays and Blanco counties that experienced flooding over Memorial Day,” on May 25. Because of the flooding, 49 counties

have received federal disaster declarations and nearly 32,000 households have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Bearden said. Texas Baptists have partnered with local Baptist churches to house volunteers

and assist in the rebuilding efforts for families who have little to no flood insurance. Additionally, the responders have been focused on the relief efforts in Van, Texas, where a tornado struck on Mother’s Day. Volunteers have assisted in rebuilding

two homes in Van, said Bearden, noting that Texas Baptists have mobilized more than 1,000 volunteers serving more than 80 Baptist churches in the state over the course of this year alone. Virginia Baptists have also been active

in responding to pressing relief needs in 2015. Following significant snowstorms in Wise, Virginia Baptists deployed a team of volunteers to help residents repair and rebuild. “We connected our state emergency

management, our volunteers and a local church to provide meals to volunteers cleaning up after significant snowstorm damage in Wise, Va.,” said Aaron Lee, disaster response

coordinator for the

Baptist General Association of Virginia. “We continue to be involved in Wise as our local and state partners identify and prepare to help residents repair and build.” A team was also sent to Pine Bluff,

Arkansas, in the aftermath of destructive flooding along the Arkansas River. In

addition to responding to natural disasters, Virginia Baptists, through their disaster arm, Virginia Disaster Recovery, provided laundry services to National Guard troops during the civil unrest in Baltimore, Maryland, in late April and early May. National groups like American Baptist

Churches USA have continued to focus their long-term relief and recovery efforts on Hurricane Katrina, the deadly 2005 storm that significantly affected the Gulf Coast Region of the US, as well as on Hur- ricane Rita, the 2005 storm that wreaked havoc on parts of Florida, Louisiana, Mis- sissippi and Texas. “American Baptists have also respond-

ed to tornadoes in Illinois as well as flood- ing in Washington, Colorado and West Virginia in the past year,” said Victoria Goff, national coordinator of volunteer and disaster response ministries for American Baptist Home Mission Societies. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

(CBF), a self-described “denomi-network” that comprises 1,800 churches and thou- sands of individuals, has, like American Baptists, continued to focus on long-term recovery efforts. In the past year, CBF Disaster Response has put an emphasis on its response efforts to Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the coast of New Jersey in 2012. Throughout the year, CBF has focused

its attention on responding to the severe flooding in Texas, which caused signifi- cant damage to one CBF church, as well as in Oklahoma, where Tropical Storm Bill, an extreme weather event, produced widespread rainfall

resulting in emer-

gency conditions including flooding and high winds. First-response relief efforts as well

as long-term recovery efforts are vitally necessary, and Baptists in the United States from Texas Baptists to Virginia Baptists to American Baptists to Cooperative Baptists

Right: Homes and personal property of families overtaken by flooding in Blanco, Texas, in May

Above: Volunteers remove debris in May as part of recovery efforts from a major flood

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