Churches respond to ice storm emergency
02-18-2009
A winter storm that put much of northern Arkansas in a deep freeze in late January has been called the worst disaster of its kind in the state’s history.
With below-freezing temperatures sustained over several days beginning Jan. 26, the storm brought a shower of ice that coated trees, roadways, power lines, homes and businesses. The storm toppled trees, snapped utility poles and, at one point, left some 500,000 residents without power. Seventeen storm-related deaths have been reported in Arkansas.
Damage caused mainly by falling tree limbs was inflicted on United Methodist property along a wide swath in the northern third of the state. Mount Sequoyah Conference and Retreat Center, a South Central Jurisdictional facility at Fayetteville, was among the hardest hit.
“We’re pretty much in a pile of rubble, as far as our trees,” said co-director Sheri Altland. “We’ve got around 2,000 trees on our 32-acre campus, and there are just a handful that have not been topped, split or lost significant limbs.” The local newspaper said it was as if an “Artic tornado” had struck, she said.
Altland reported “significant damage” to eight buildings at the mountaintop retreat, with another 16 suffering roof damage resulting in leaking. Repairs are possible for most of the structures, she said.
Mount Eagle Christian Center, a rural retreat center located near Clinton, had trees down and debris scattered across its 1,000 acres.
“Power being out is the main issue, and this means we have issues of food, water and warmth,” said North East District Superintendent Kurt Boggan. Some churches and parsonages in his district sustained damage, as well as property in the North District, Northwest District and North Central District. The damage was frequently inflicted by ice-covered trees limbs falling and taking down power lines and pulling electrical boxes away from buildings.
“But our churches are making a great effort,” Boggan said. “Some are meeting in the dark and some in parsonages with generators. They are opening their doors to house and feed people and help any way they can.”
“Countless local congregations are providing meals and serving as warming places for members of the community,” said Maxine Allen, Arkansas Conference disaster response coordinator.
Bay UMC, for example, has been providing meals for displaced persons and volunteer workers. Church members also helped staff City Hall, taking care of volunteer firefighters, police and city workers and answering phone calls that came in all night long in the first 24 hours. And just when the church members were nearing exhaustion, students from the Wesley Foundation at Arkansas State University arrived to help.
“The response has just been phenomenal,” said Bay UMC pastor Angie Gage. “It’s been the biggest blessing for us to be able to do what we can to help others.”
The storm knocked out power for days on end — with some areas reportedly not expected to have power restored until early March. The outages disrupted schools and businesses. Hundreds experienced the loss of food stored in freezers, and with businesses unable to reopen, some communities were desperate for food and water. The water systems of Cherokee Village, Corning, Harrison, Melbourne, Mountain View, and Salem were among those most severely affected.
Food distribution centers like Arkansas Rice Depot and the Foodbank Network issued emergency appeals for donations to restock inventory and get food to the rising number of those in dire need. The Rice Depot calls for donations of high-protein foods such as canned meat, tuna, soups and stews, shelf-stable meals and dried beans.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief provided emergency assistance funds to speed recovery.
Updates on recovery efforts and ways to help affected areas are posted on the conference web site, www.arumc.org. Volunteer in Mission teams that are available to help with clean-up are asked to contact Don Weeks at dweeks@arumc.org or (501) 868-9193.
