By Hubert Yates
Correspondent
Summer usually means the weather in Mississippi is hot and dry with the occasional thunderstorm that brings relief from the heat, but not severe weather events that repeatedly transit the state on a daily basis in the Spring.
However, as we transitioned from Spring to Summer in the month of June this year, Mississippi has been hit with a series of severe weather events that have impacted most areas of the state. These events have created opportunities for Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief (MBDR) to share the love of Christ with many of those who have been affected.
With widespread damage reported across the state from storms occurring on June 16-17, local Mississippi Baptist church teams affiliated with MBDR began assisting homeowners with damage cleanup. MBDR teams/contacts in Madison, Desoto, Attalla, Neshoba, Lincoln, Panola, Tippah, Benton, Lincoln, Smith, Simpson, Hinds, and Lee Associations reported assessment and cleanup activities related to downed trees and damaged roofs.
After a tornadic storm rolled through the Florence and Monterey communities of Rankin County on the night of July 19, the disaster relief team of First Church, Florence, mobilized to assist homeowners with tarping (placing blue tarpaulins on damaged roofs) and chainsaw assistance.
Over the next six days, the First Church, Florence, team assisted by a MBDR incident management/chaplain/assessor team and a heavy equipment (skid steer) operator from Lincoln Association, completed seven chainsaw/debris removal and one tarping requests.
A total of 33 volunteer days and 214 volunteer hours were recorded. Thirteen ministry contacts were reported.
Operations at this site were completed on June 24.
Another tornado from the same system hit an area just east of Louin in Jasper County. Although very short lived, the EF3 tornado did major damage to a compact area injuring 11 and killing one. A MBDR assessment team was on the ground on June 19 establishing response needs.
Working with Jasper Association and Louin Church, MBDR-affiliated teams/volunteers from Temple Church, Hattiesburg; Pine Belt Association, Hattiesburg; and Carterville Church, Petal began providing assistance to homeowners.
Over the course of four days, the teams completed 12 chainsaw/debris removal requests from homeowners. Fifty-seven volunteer days were reported with 270 volunteer hours and 47 hours of heavy equipment use. Eighteen ministry contacts were also reported.
The vast majority of homes in this area (approximately 35) are totally destroyed and a coalition of local churches is working to engage a contractor to assist with demolition and cleanup. This same coalition of churches is working to assist in long term recovery.
Operations at this site were completed on June 24 with Jasper Association/Louin Church continuing to monitor needs for additional follow up by MBDR.
On June 20, a tornadic storm impacted Moss Point, causing significant damage in the downtown area and several residential neighborhoods. First Missionary Baptist Church’s sanctuary was totally destroyed and First Church, Moss Point experienced damage to their facilities.
Disaster Relief operations were initiated by members of Jackson County Association disaster relief team. At the current time, MBDR has supplemented Jackson County response with an incident management team lead and is scheduling additional chainsaw teams to assist.
Sixty-four work requests had been received by June 28, with 37 requests completed/closed and 27 in progress.
Please pray for the MBDR volunteers who are responding to these incidents. Spring 2023 has been a very busy response season for our volunteers.
Pray that the volunteers will not grow weary in the well doing. The opportunities to share with the survivors and those affected by these storms is a cherished opportunity, so show and share the love of Christ in a time of need.
Yates is disaster relief director at the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board. Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief is supported by gifts to the Mississippi Cooperative Program, the Margaret Lackey State Mission Offering, and individual donations. For more information on the ministry, Yates may be contacted at hyates@mbcb.org. To make a tax deductible donation, click here.
