News & Publications

Hurricane Response and Relief Efforts

11/7/2012
Hurricane Sandy
The East Coast of the United States was devastated by Hurricane Sandy on October 29th and 30th. Communities and regions in several states have been declared federal disaster areas.  Millions of people may not have their power restored for weeks and the full extent of the damage is still being determined. 
 

Parts of the New York Annual Conference and the Greater New Jersey Conference have sustained the heaviest damage and those conference offices have been overwhelmed by generous offers of help. Those areas, however, are still in the make-safe, emergency and assessment phase and organizing for how they will accept help. We have only heard one request for relief help in Rhode Island, so we may still hear about needs in coastal New England Conference towns, as well.   Please continue to pray for all those affected by and responding to this latest disaster.

Safety is Primary Concern

Emergency workers and our conference disaster response team coordinators are asking that individual or self-organized volunteers to refrain from travelling to affected areas to help at this time. Contact information for our volunteer coordinators is listed below – please be in touch with one of these persons to coordinate any volunteer efforts or response.

According to our Northeast Jurisdiction United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) coordinator, NY and NJ are now accepting trained and badged (at least one ERT badged member for every 4-5 people) teams for early response work, but donations of used clothing are not being accepted in either state.

There was a well-written article from November 3rd in the LA Times Op-Ed section that conveys the reasons and situation facing affected communities of past disasters. Read the article.
 
The Northeast Jurisdiction has worked with the three annual conferences to establish a process whereby teams can register in each of the areas. First priority will be given to teams responding from the Northeast as fewer resources will be required for them to respond. Many of the areas are still in the Emergency Phase and even credentialed persons are being denied access by National Guard and regional police unless they are from the area.
PLEASE BE PATIENT.

There are already numerous reports of unaffiliated and unrequested volunteers hampering the recovery efforts.

We do not want the United Methodist church highlighted as one of these groups.
PLEASE BE PATIENT.

For ERT teams (only team leader register your group):
Greater New Jersey - send email to: DisasterResponse@gnjumc.org
You will be contacted by a representative of the conference disaster team.
Please list : Name and contact info, Church, Annual Conference, team size, dates available to respond

New York Conference: Go to www.nyac.comand register on their website with information requested

Pen-Del Conference: Email to: pastorrich@att.net
You will be contacted by a representative of the conference disaster team.
Please list : Name and contact info, Church, Annual Conference, team size (5-7 recommended), dates avail.

PLEASE BE PATIENT.

We will be needing teams in the region for the foreseeable future and will be establishing a process for teams. Thank you for looking to serve and we want you here with us - at the appropriate time and through channels established by the affected conferences.
 
Classes are being scheduled in the New England Conference to train new ERTs for the relief phase work and UMVIM team leaders for the recovery phase. Contact Dave Stackpole, conference UMVIM director, (he prefers e-mails at vimnecumc@charter.net) to register your interest, but if someone needs to call, the number is 603-244-0713.
 
Volunteer Contacts

Persons who would like to assist directly in the relief or recovery phases may contact:

Ways You Can Help
Congregations and individuals can help by:
  • Prayer
  • Donations to UMCOR and/or Mission Central  (Donations for UMCOR can also be sent to the New England Conference Office, note Advance Special 204 in the memo line)
  • Registering for ERT or UMVIM team leader training
  • Assembling cleaning buckets (formerly called flood buckets)
  • Assembling health kits
Cleaning Bucket or Health Kit Drop-off Sites

The following locations have been confirmed as drop-off locations for cleaning buckets (formerly called flood buckets) and health kits.  UMCOR provides detailed instructions on assembling the buckets and kits and a list of contents for each.  Please contact the site prior to delivering buckets/kits to confirm drop-off hours.

Mid-Maine District office
Winthrop Center Rd
East Winthrop, ME 04343
207-395-4080
 
Camp Mechuwana
91 Holmes Rd
Winthrop, ME
207-377-2924
 
Trinity UMC
361 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
413-737-5311
 
Faith Fellowship
9 North Main St
Mansfield, MA
(508) 339-6040
 
Good Shepherd UMC
577 Salem St.
Malden, MA 02148
617-480-2955
617-981-9825
Northern Maine District Office
44 Kennebec Rd
Hampden, ME 04444
207-862-8089
 
St. Matthew's UMC
435 Central St.
Acton, MA
978-263-2822
 
Weston UMC
377 North Ave.
Weston, MA  02493
781-893-9595
 
St James UMC*
646 Daniel Webster Hwy
Merrimack NH
603-424-7459
 
Georges Mills/Lake Sunapee UMC*
37 Prospect Hill Rd
Georges Mills, NH
603-763-4301
 

*New England Conference’s UMCOR HUBs

Support the work of UMCOR
Early Response Teams and UMCOR are already responding in the hardest hit areas. Read more on the initial response: UMCOR News " Hurricane Sandy. Donations can be made to UMCOR Hurricane Disaster Response, Advance #3021787 
Pray for our brothers and sisters in neighboring Conferences
The major impact of the storm was felt in New Jersey, New York, Washington, Maryland, and other areas along the Atlantic coast, and in West Virginia and the Applachian regions. Please keep our brothers and sisters in these regions in your special prayers.
 
 
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Hurricane Guidelines and Resources:
 
Now or in the future, you may want to access resources to prepare for a storm situation:

If you need to find shelter near you during a storm: http://www.redcross.org/find-help/shelter. You can also register at the Red Cross Safe and Well page to let loved ones know you are safe: Safe and Well. Posting on Facebook and/or Twitter from your cell phone is also a good way to get the word out that you are OK if you lose power.

As a storm departs and assessment and clean up begins, we are reminding churches of guidelines for response and insurance contact information. The initial reports of damage will be helpful in the assessment of the impact of the storm.
  • If there is local church building or property damage, you should call Fred C. Church insurance (800-225-1865), Deanna Bullock # 7242 or Brooke Fraites #7230. Next, please report it to your district office (www.neumc.org/districts) and to the Bishop's Office (mcphee@neumc.org). 
  • Enable systems in your congregation to check on elderly folks and others who might need support during and immediately after the storm.
  • Local congregations are encouraged to team with others to assist neighbors with food, shelter, transportation, etc. in the aftermath of the storm.