Hurricane Laura Response Update

Prayers and Patience are What's Needed Now

Aug. 26, 5:15 p.m.

As Hurricane Laura takes aim on the Louisiana/Texas coastline with what is projected to be a devastating storm surge, many of the good people of the Central Texas Conference are already asking “what can we do to help?” The immediate answer is to pray and hold tight until the areas of need are revealed once the storm passes and proper damage assessments can be completed. The CTC disaster response team has been, is and will continue to be in contact with UMCOR and counterparts from the Louisiana Conference, Texas and Arkansas Conferences and will share details on how you can help as appropriate.

According to Susan Lutrell, CTC Disaster Response Coordinator, here are the things that we can all be doing.

• Pray now.
• Be Patient. This is not going to be an overnight response. First responders must do their job and then an assessment of the region. Infrastructure needs to be back in place and the ability to “house” volunteers has to be determined
• Be Prepared. If you have people in your church trained to respond as either an ERT or an Emotional & Spiritual Care Team remind them to read over their manuals and be sure they have supplies ready. Please do not self-deploy no matter what you see on the news or how many times you hear what the church across the street is doing. It is important for us to follow our proven response protocols.
• Give Donations. Give monetary donations to UMCOR.org at this point. If this disaster is of a significant size we will also recommend that churches/people give to the Louisiana and Texas Conferences disaster line. We will share that information as it becomes available. Churches and individuals can also help by making Cleaning and/or Hygiene Kits. Contact Clara Downey for drop off location.

If you have questions, please contact Susan Luttrell or Clara Downey