World Renew DRS Responds to Flooding in Burlington and Detroit

On Thursday, volunteers from the Christian Reformed Church in North America’s office in Burlington, Ontario will join with World Renew Disaster Relief Services (DRS) volunteers and others to help clean up following torrential rains that fell in the area earlier this month.

The storm on August 4 brought the equivalent of two months of rain in only a few hours. This overloaded storm sewers and left 1,578 people with flooded basements.

Together with its partner, Samaritan’s Purse, World Renew has set up a base at Burlington Christian Reformed Church and is sending teams of volunteers, which will include CRC employees, into affected neighborhoods to cut and remove damaged drywall, carry damaged items out to dumpsters, and wash and disinfect items that were contaminated during the floods.

Meanwhile, World Renew Disaster Response Services (DRS) continues organizing to help residents in Detroit, Mich. clean up from recent heavy rains and flooding.

In Detroit, DRS is making plans to deploy a trained clean-up team in areas affected by the storm on Aug. 11.

The rainfall total was the second-highest one-day rainfall on record for Detroit, behind 4.74 inches that fell on July 31, 1925, according to the National Weather Service.

“With the downpour, the Rouge and Clinton rivers in Detroit, Michigan, overran their banks,” says World Renew DRS Director Ronald Willett. “By Monday, some local roadways were under 14 feet of water and Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties were declared a state of disaster by the governor.”

The historic rain left churches, businesses, and homes with significant damage, Pat Guikema said. “Nardin Park Reformed Church is one example—not only did their church basement completely flood, but water was also standing on the main level,” Guikema added.

“We found that they and many others are trying to figure out what to do next…. We’re thankful to be part of the solution through World Renew DRS."

Donations to “Spring/Summer storms 2014” will be directed to the flood response in Detroit and Burlington, as well as any other severe storms this year.  The funds will be used not only help with the initial response, but also allow World Renew DRS to help throughout the recovery process.