UMs brace for Hurricane Dean’s arrival

Southwest Texas Conference leaders were bracing this week for Hurricane Dean as they continued assessing aftereffects of Tropical Storm Erin.
Dean was expected to make landfall midweek—after this issue of the Witness had gone to press—somewhere along the Gulf coast in Texas or Mexico.
If it hits Texas, the hurricane could be following close to the course of Tropical Storm Erin. It made landfall early Aug. 16 near Rockport.
The first tropical storm to affect Texas since 2005, Erin was quickly downgraded to a tropical depression and caused little damage along the coast.
But the storm dumped four to 12 inches of rain from the Brush Country through San Antonio into the Hill Country. Much of that precipitation fell on areas already saturated by record rains from mid June to early August.
Erin’s rain caused flooding along the Guadalupe, Medina and San Antonio rivers as well as many tributaries. High water closed hundreds of low-water crossings around San Antonio and in the Hill Country Aug. 16-17.
A tornado was reported Aug. 16 in Kendall County between Boerne and Comfort.
Susan Hellums, conference Volunteers in Mission and disaster-response coordinator, was checking with Corpus Christi, Kerrville, San Antonio and Victoria district officials Aug. 17 about recovery needs along Erin’s path. No firm needs were identified before press time.
Hellums was also checking on preparations for Hurricane Dean. It could be the first hurricane to make landfall in Southwest Texas since Claudette in 2003.
The Communications and Public Witness Office sent disaster-response reminder cards Aug. 17 to all congregations in the Corpus Christi, McAllen and Victoria districts. Those cards suggest that United Methodist leaders prepare for Gulf storms by:
> Checking on the status of church families.
> Protecting buildings and parsonages.
> Securing records and moving them to an alternate site.
> Securing sacred vessels and altar furniture.
> Ensuring continuing witness in spite of the disaster.
Southwest Texas United Methodists are continuing to help with recovery from an April 27 tornado in Eagle Pass, June flooding in Marble Falls and Granite Shoals, and July flooding near Rio Grande City and Laredo.
President Bush had declared 14 Southwest Texas counties federal disaster areas as of Aug. 7. More than 1,000 people from those counties had registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for flood relief.
Representatives of the United Methodist Committee on Relief did case management training Aug. 7 in Granite Shoals and Aug. 8 in Victoria. Participants learned how to interview victims of natural disasters, assess needs and help clients through their trauma.
The Corpus Christi District offered certification training for early response team members Aug. 4 at Grace UMC, Corpus Christi. Volunteers learned how to make homes safe, sanitary and secure in the days after a storm or flood.
The Kerrville District provided similar training Aug. 11 at St. Paul’s UMC, Kerrville.
Hellums has scheduled training for disaster-recovery volunteers Saturday at Grace UMC, Granite Shoals, and Sept. 9 at University UMC, San Antonio.
For information contact Hellums at (956) 648-8509 or shellums@mcfirst.com.