Churches Dealing with Disaster

When disaster strikes, United Methodists respond with prayers and support.

Find out how you can be a part of relief efforts. Follow news coverage or the United Methodist News Service page on Facebook.

Check for information about local churches or conferences.

Learn from the stories of United Methodists congregations that have faced hardship, healing and hope after disasters.

Useful Links

Resources

Disaster preparedness and response

Storms and flood

Part I of this series shares how the United Methodist Committee on Relief responds to disasters. The next four segments tell the stories of three churches — in Alabama, Indiana and North Dakota — that are recovering from tornadoes and floods.

Fires

During 2012 and early 2013, fire destroyed or damaged more than a dozen United Methodist church properties across the United States. This special news series reported on the damage from those fires, the response to the affected congregations and what churches can do to protect themselves.

Related Stories


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Disaster Relief
Heavy rains accompanied by balls of ice destroyed the roof of Kuziva Stephen Makunike’s home during the Oct. 5 storm that swept through Masvingo town in southeastern Zimbabwe.  Estimates were yet to be made, but church members believe property damaged will need thousands of dollars to repair and rebuild.  Photo by Pastor Samuel Maunga, UM News.

Zimbabwe hailstorm destroys churches, homes

United Methodists in Masvingo town are counting their losses after a severe hailstorm smashed church properties and members’ homes.
Mission and Ministry
A member of a United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Disaster Response Team from Virginia works to clear a flood-damaged home in Western North Carolina during the days following Hurricane Helene in 2024. Photo by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

50 years of turning faith into action

From disaster zones to mission fields around the world, United Methodist Volunteers in Mission marks a half-century of making a difference.
Disaster Relief
Moïse Mwango Numbalanga (center in white shirt), coordinator for the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Disaster Management Office in the Bukavu District, walks through the field of ruins in the Irambo neighborhood in Bukavu, Congo, to speak with United Methodist disaster survivors. More than 70 households from Ibanda United Methodist Church lost everything in the overnight fire. Photo courtesy of the Disaster Management Office of the East Congo Episcopal Area.

United Methodists lose homes in Congo fire

In a region already hit by insecurity and an Ebola outbreak, The United Methodist Church is scrambling to shelter those left homeless and assessing other needs.

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