Hurricane recovery work to continue long after ’05 storm season ends

By Claudia M. Williams
Staff Writer
The 2005 hurricane season Nov. 30 ended , but recovery work in areas hard hit by Hurricanes Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Rita and Wilma will continue long into the years ahead.
That’s the word from Susan Hellums, Southwest Texas Conference Volunteers in Mission coordinator. She said the areas devastated by the hurricanes—Mexico by Hurricane Emily in June, the Gulf Coast by Dennis in July, Katrina in August and Rita in September, and Florida by Wilma in October—will need United Methodists’ help in the years ahead more than ever before.
“They say United Methodists are the first ones in and the last ones out,” Hellums said. “When a disaster strikes, we immediately go into action with food and shelter for the victims.”
United Methodist help goes beyond immediate needs, she said. Mission teams remove trees and debris as well as rebuild and repair homes.
“There are people living in pup tents or on their porches because they have a tree right through their house,” Hellums said.  
Weather forecasters closed out the Atlantic hurricane season Nov. 30 with a record 26 named tropical storms. That was the busiest hurricane season on record.
As congregations plan their 2006 calendars, Hellums urged Southwest Texas United Methodists to include mission team trips to areas the hurricanes battered.
Going through proper channels is important, Hellums said, so work teams won’t become part of the recovery problem. United Methodist conferences in areas hit by the storms have set up Disaster Response Centers to coordinate volunteer work.
“Call a Disaster Response Center first,” Hellums said. “Then let me know your plans. When you come back, send me a brief report. I’m tracking Southwest Texas Conference work teams.”
Teams that want to work in Mexico should contact Hellums directly.
“Disasters cause disruption that can last for years,” Hellums said. “They can change peoples’ lives permanently. Methodists are blessed with the ability to help people. That’s who we are.”
Hellums can be reached at (956) 661-9771 or shellums@mcfirst.com.