Situation Report
Hurricane Charley

September 3, 2004

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DR000015
(Relief and recovery for disaster survivors)

DR000163
(Church Property Damage)

Investment banker Kevin Fernandes cuts oak tree felled at elderly neighbor's house by Hurricane Charley. Photo credit: Disaster News Network

With that counsel, Larry worked with the team to first assess their strengths and gifts, and then to identify the component pieces of a response. Assignments were needed for thinking through and planning for clean-up, reconstruction, pastoral care, and locating church members.

When Peace River Presbytery determined that an immediate need was to locate people, they recognized that trained Stephen Ministers would be appropriate and helpful in meeting this need. More than 40 trained volunteers made over 400 calls within the first week of the storm helping pastors identify both the location and the needs of their congregants.

Following a visit to the affected area, Stan Hankins, Associate for National Disaster Response said, "this is like no other disaster we have worked. In addition to the property damage sustained by the church, many primary care-givers (pastors and their families) have also been hard hit on a personal level; they will need support from the Presbyterian family." PDA recognizes the great ripple effect of appropriate and timely care and support. The immediate objective is to strengthen congregational leadership (pastors and staff). This then enables them to better serve their members. As members are supported, they can reach out to neighbors in healing ways.

A resident collects food and household supplies from relief station following Hurricane Charley. Photo credit: Disaster News Network

Marian and George were key servants for thirteen months during the response to Hurricane Andrew. They started out serving as hosts for work teams, but George was quickly put into service as a financial manager and Marian handled petty cash and supply purchases.

$120,000 from One Great Hour of Sharing and designated funds have already been sent in to the region. Half of the funds are providing immediate support to survivors and the other half to begin meeting the needs for affected churches.

A major need is for "chain saw gangs." Florida is a place of live oaks - huge trees that require heavy-duty chain saws and cranes to remove. Insurance only covers downed trees if they land on a house or car. One pastor in Polk County told Graham-Johnson about an 80-year-old woman and her 91-year-old husband who were out trying to remove trees from their yard because there was no insurance help.

The areas most affected by Hurricane Charley are retirement communities, Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte in Charlotte County. Charlotte County has the nation's largest percentage of people older than 65.

As the prospect of Hurricane Frances striking land draws nearer, the elderly are especially vulnerable.

Two weeks after Hurricane Charley's landfall, teams from the Charlotte County Council on Aging found an elderly woman sitting in her house, just staring. "Part of her roof was wide open," said Ray Hayes. "There were trees down all over her yard. And she wouldn't answer the door because she was afraid of looters. She had no family, and she had no friends to check on her. We had to go in through a window to help her."

Hayes further states, "I'm afraid some of these elderly people who have been confined to their homes will get heat illnesses, or have mental breakdowns."