Boarding up Gautier Presbyterian Church after Sunday services. Photo: Karen Bullock

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s disaster relief ministry, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, held a telephone conference early today with Synod leadership from Living Waters and Mid-Atlantic and Jill Hudson, Office of the General Assembly coordinator for middle governing bodies, to determine the current situation and any need for PDA assistance. The synod leadership had previously surveyed the presbyteries and at this time have no specific requests for assistance.

Hurricane Gustav came ashore in Louisiana on Monday, September 1, as a category 2 hurricane. While preparedness assisted in evacuation, and the anticipated damage to New Orleans did not occur, Gustav’s destruction is yet to be determined. It is expected to douse much of Louisiana and neighboring states with rain, keeping communities on alert for tornadoes and flooding.

Thankfully, most of the areas where Gustav was projected to hit had been evacuated. Included in the evacuations were the staff of the Presbytery of South Louisiana’s Project Homecoming that has been active in helping with rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Also evacuated were the Presbyterian Volunteer Villages located in Mississippi and Louisiana. 

The Orange Grove Presbyterian Volunteer Village located in Gulfport, Mississippi, is preparing to reopen and house Americorp volunteers that will be helping with the Hurricane Gustav response.

There is concern about the Presbyterian Volunteer Village in Houma, Louisiana. Houma was directly in the path of Gustav and sustained considerable damage. The Presbyterian Volunteer Village construction supervisor of this village lost his home to Gustav, but thankfully, his family had evacuated to safety. Houma is still recovering from 2005’s Hurricane Rita.

PDA will continue to monitor the effects of Hurricane Gustav and will respond as needed. PDA will also be in touch with the Presbyteries of South Louisiana and Mississippi and with staff of the Presbyterian Volunteer Villages to coordinate assistance as needed. Sandra Price, a member of the National Response Team, is connecting both PDA and the Presbytery of Mississippi with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

Ferncliff Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center serves as a warehouse for Church World Service (CWS) material resources. CWS pre-positioned material resources at Ferncliff before the storm and will be able to fulfill requests for Emergency Blankets, Clean-up Buckets, and other Gift of the Heart Kits as needs arise. Individuals and congregations can participate in assembling Gift of the Heart Kits and clean-up buckets to send to Ferncliff.

Work teams interested in helping with clean-up and rebuilding efforts should register with the PDA Call Center located at Ferncliff by calling (866) 732-6121.  The PDA Call Center will be working with the presbyteries and Presbyterian Volunteer Villages to house volunteers and determine work needs.

Please also contact the PDA Call Center to assist with the continuing need for volunteers related to Hurricanes Dolly and Edouard in Texas, Tropical Storm Fay in Florida and summer flooding in Iowa. 

John Winings, executive director of the Synod of Mid-Atlantic, expressed concern about continued rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay.  He mentioned there are flood warnings throughout Salem Presbytery, located in North Carolina.  He also expressed concern about Hurricane Hanna, which is being compared to 1999’s Hurricane Floyd that caused much devastation to Eastern North Carolina.

Hurricane Gustav response index

National responses