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DISASTER RESPONSE

Preparing for and Responding to Disasters

By Rev. Steve Court*

The East Ohio Conference disaster response ministry is part the network of conferences and churches that support the relief efforts of United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). While we are overwhelmed by news reports of immediate needs, please know that United Methodist communities, annual conferences, and UMCOR Early Response Teams are and have been actively involved. I and other Conference Coordinators of Disaster Response have been meeting with UMCOR to determine where and when we can best help.

The best thing we can do in response is to pray, support UMCOR financially, prepare cleaning buckets to restock distribution centers, and begin planning now for how we can volunteer in the coming months and years. The United Methodist Church supports local congregations both in their immediate needs after a disaster and in their long-term recovery process. United Methodist Volunteer In Mission (UMVIM) projects continue to provide recovery from disasters for many years. If you feel a need to help when responders are invited into a disaster area, please e-mail Rev. Kathy Dickriede, Missions & Community Engagement director in the Connectional Ministries office to learn how you can volunteer.

Preparing to Respond Disasters

On “clear sky days”, when there are no active local disasters, we develop and train mission volunteers, develop Early Response Teams, work with district disaster coordinators to assist local churches in planning for disasters, develop community partnerships – especially with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and its related organizations (VOAD) – determine which churches could serve as emergency shelters, determine which churches could provide temporary storage of needed materials, and restock UMCOR supply depots with cleaning buckets and other supplies.

Putting a Plan into Action

As weather forecasts predict the likelihood of a major storm or hurricane, UMCOR communicates with each conference disaster response coordinator to plan for advanced staging of cleaning buckets and other supplies close to their area. The bishop of each annual conference may request supplies and/or solidarity grants to provide supplies and immediate funds to help local churches in their response. In the first hours or days of a disaster, Early Response Teams (ERT)do not enter the disaster area. We are not first responders. Fire, police, the National Guard and other local emergency management agencies provide rescue services, determine which areas are safe for travel, and inspect homes or structures to determine which are safe for entry. The Red Cross and related state agencies provide emergency shelters, water, food, and critical needs.

The Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs then create an application process to identify individual needs for assistance and determine the scope of the disaster. UMCOR’s Early Response Teams are not deployed until the local agencies determine which areas are safe for volunteers and which homes will use their insurance for repairs. In these early days, local churches may serve as temporary shelters or as distribution centers for food and cleaning supplies. In partnership with disaster response ministries and coordinators in U.S. annual conferences, UMCOR journeys with affected communities throughout a disaster’s cycle, including disaster preparedness, relief, response, recovery and mitigation.

Each annual conference determines if they have enough local resources to meet local needs. ERT and other response teams then help local churches continue to supply survivors with food, water, shelter and help with mucking out and cleaning up. ERT teams do not make permanent repairs.

After the immediate crisis has calmed down, the disaster shifts from response to recovery. United Methodist Volunteers In Mission (UMVIM) teams, not ERT, help with rebuilding. The UMVIM teams help those who do not have insurance or who have incomplete coverage. UMVIM networks identify and support churches in a wide variety of long term projects. Your involvement in a hands-on mission will be a life-changing experience.

Learn more about EOC Disaster Response.

*Rev. Steve Court is Disaster Response coordinator for the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church.