CRWRC Assesses Tornado Damage
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) disaster relief managers are assessing and determining how to best respond to the widespread death and damage caused in Harrisburg, Ind., as well as in other communities, following last week’s deadly outbreak of storms in 11 Midwest and southern states.
At least six people were killed and many injured when an EF-4 tornado, carrying winds of up to 170 miles per hour, hit and leveled parts of Harrisburg, a town of 9,000 people.
CRWRC disaster managers Ed and Helen Mulder arrived in Harrisburg on Friday, March 2, to make early damage assessments and coordinate with government and voluntary organizations.
The twister that roared through Harrisburg was part of the series of tornadoes that touched down over two days in several Midwest and southern states.
In Alabama, CRWRC’s volunteer construction teams, who are repairing homes damaged by last April’s tornadoes, had to leave their work sites and take cover due to the storms.
Besides Indiana, states damaged in the storms include Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to the National Weather Service.
Given the extent of the damage, CRWRC disaster relief managers said on Monday that, along with Harrisburg, they plan to assess damage in communities in Kentucky and Illinois.
More than 500 homes in a five-county area of Illinois alone were severely damaged or destroyed, says CRWRC Disaster Response Services (DRS) director Bill Adams.
As federal, state and local disaster officials work in 11 states to get an overview of the damage and death toll, CRWRC is in continuing discussions with FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and National VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) “in order to determine how we can best send help,” says Adams.
CRWRC is the disaster response, relief and development agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
CRWRC’s volunteer services include recovery planning and capacity building, needs assessments, home repair and construction in disaster locations across the U.S. and Canada.
To support CRWRC-DRS in addressing long-term recovery needs in Harrisburg and additional locations, go to Midwest, southerntornadoesresponse, call 1-800-55-CRWRC, or give by check marked, “CRWRC Spring Storms 2012,” and mail to CRWRC, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., 49560-0600.
Meanwhile, hundreds of National Guard troops are providing search and rescue, debris removal, traffic control and patrols in several states, according to the National Guard Bureau of Public Affairs.
Among other activities, Guard members are providing aviation support, helping evacuate patients and delivering critically needed medications to communities in several states, Guard Bureau officials reported.
