disaster response

A Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley Shallow Water Response Team rescues nine people and one dog Sept. 16, 2020, near Navarre Beach, Fla., after they were stranded by Hurricane Sally. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Sector Ohio Valley Shallow Water Response Team.

Churches pick up after Sally

Hurricane brought strong winds, torrential rain to west Florida and south Alabama.

Wildfires burn during a mid-August night near Susanville, Calif. A series of wildfires has destroyed more than 30,000 acres of land around Susanville. Photo by Doug Magill, U.S. Army.

Fires, coronavirus complicate Western disaster relief

After a hurricane or tornado, church disaster relief teams and volunteers typically spring into action. Such a response isn’t possible in wildfires.

Disaster Relief

The Rev. Catie Newman prays with John W. Weaver in front of a neighbor’s wind-damaged home while a United Methodist volunteer team makes emergency repairs to his roof in Marion, Iowa. Weaver’s mobile home was severely damaged during a derecho windstorm Aug. 10. Newman is the disaster response coordinator for the Iowa Conference.

Church leads storm recovery in Iowa

United Methodist volunteers are coming from all over Iowa and other states to help following an Aug. 10 derecho windstorm that left a 700-mile path of destruction.

Mission and Ministry

Two views show extensive damage to University United Methodist Church in Lake Charles, La. Southwestern Louisiana has widespread destruction from Hurricane Laura, which made landfall Aug. 27 with winds of up to 150 miles per hour. Photos by Jerry Jackson, courtesy of the Rev. Angela Cooley Bulhof, University United Methodist Church.

Louisiana churches hit by Hurricane Laura

Though flooding was less than feared, ‘the wind was not our friend,’ bishop says.

Sign up for our newsletter!

umnews-subscriptions