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2006 Spring Storms Update

September 8, 2006

Recovery efforts continue from a series of storms and tornadoes that affected a large area of south-central and Midwestern states in April - which followed earlier storms and tornadoes in March that seriously affected parts of Missouri, particularly the southwestern and northwestern parts of the state. The storms in April left 27 people dead - 23 of them in Tennessee -- and caused extensive property damage in Dyer and Gibson counties in Tennessee. There, more than 1,000 homes were destroyed.

RESPONSE: This CWS Spring Storms 2006 appeal (account # 6286), originally issued March 20, was expanded in April to include the response efforts in Tennessee, as well as southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Since then, Church World Service (CWS) Disaster Response and Recovery Liaisons (DRRLs) and field staff have worked on-site and in distance follow-up with faith community leaders to develop local long-term recovery groups.

A summary of their work:

MISSOURI: CWS field staff Bonnie Vollmering has overseen CWS efforts in response to the Missouri tornadoes. Two recovery groups have been formed with CWS support. One, the Northeast Missouri Unmet Needs Committee based in Hannibal, received a $3,000 grant from CWS.

The other group is the Long-term Recovery Team of Pemiscot County, based in Caruthersville, which received a $5,000 grant from CWS. That group has trained caseworkers, 16 of whom are working on 162 unmet needs cases. "There are still quite a bit of unmet needs," Vollmering said, adding "there's still a lot to be done there, including housing construction."

In addition to the seed grant given to the Pemiscot County group, CWS sent 50 CWS Cleanup Buckets to the region for cleanup efforts.

TENNESSEE: DRRLs Lesli Remaly-Netter and Bryan Crousore have overseen CWS efforts in the affected counties of Dyer, Gibson and Sumner counties. In a recent report from the affected areas, Crousore acknowledged that Gibson county in particular is an economically distressed area and that the "neighborhoods in the small towns and villages directly impacted are largely low-income, elderly and (have) other vulnerable persons."

In Dyer County, case managers are working on unmet cases. Lisa Ramm, president of Dyer County Disaster Recovery, observes that "much hard work has been going on in many different areas."

DRRL Crousore also noted: "The resources available in these towns are limited." Despite these limitations, however, residents in the affected counties have formed long-term recovery groups.

The Gibson County Long-term Disaster Committee has requested a $5,000 seed grant from CWS to do case management work. A $5,000 grant request has been received for the Dyer County Disaster Recovery effort.

Remaly-Netter reports that there is a continued need for skilled volunteers to do home repair and construction in the affected counties in Tennessee, an area she said has been overlooked because of attention focused on recovery in the Gulf states from the 2005 hurricanes. "The need for skilled volunteers in Tennessee is real," she said.

ARKANSAS: Bonnie Vollmering, along with UMCOR field staff Christy Smith, worked with the faith leaders in Marmaduke, where approximately 50 percent of the community was destroyed by a tornado. Although significant damages were sustained, the community leadership has determined that a long-term recovery effort will not be organized at this time.

OKLAHOMA: DRRL Cherri Baer has worked at the request of the state emergency management agency to help leaders in Delaware County form a long-term recovery interfaith. The long-term recovery committee has not met since July but is planning to do so in mid-September. As of mid-August, successful work days have included some 100 volunteers, doing mainly exterior work; one roof and a housing rebuild are the remaining primary projects that will hopefully be addressed by Mennonite volunteers. Eight cases have been assisted with family funds and money received by the community. A CWS grant is not anticipated.

Contributions to support this emergency appeal may be sent to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN, 46515. Please designate: 2006 SPRING STORMS #6286.

Contributions may also be made by credit card online, or by calling: 800-297-1516, ext. 222.

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;

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