Alabama Baptists are joining other Southern Baptist disaster relief teams in responding to the ice storm that slammed into California Jan. 12 and traveled across the United States through Jan. 16, leaving an icy trail from Texas to Maine.
According to The Associated Press, at least 70 deaths related to winter weather were reported in the nine states affected, including 23 in Oklahoma and 12 each in Texas and Missouri.
An assessment team from Elmore Baptist Association traveled to Missouri Jan. 19, and another from St. Clair Baptist Association was scheduled to arrive Jan. 21, said Tommy Puckett, director of disaster relief for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
At press time, chain saw teams in the state had been placed on alert and would probably be sent out sometime after the 21st, he noted.
Missouri was among the hardest hit Jan. 12, according to The Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader.
Residents still faced power outages and other difficulties as they braced for the next onslaught — which began hitting Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri Jan. 19 — although meteorologists did not think its snow, sleet and freezing rain would be as severe as the previous storm’s ice. (TAB)
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