New York’s Staten Island residents may have been upset about FEMA’s response, or lack thereof, following “post-tropical” cyclone Sandy that hit the area Oct. 29, but they are not saying the same thing about Alabama Baptists’ assistance.
“We are glad to have them here,” said Duane Ullrich, pastor of New Dorp Moravian Church, Staten Island, where the disaster relief volunteers are staying while they work in the area.
And Alabama is grateful for the support of the church, said Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief volunteer Debbie Reese.
“Pastor Duane, the church staff and the members have gone out of their way for us,” she said. “They’ve brought us supplies, fielded phone calls for us and helped us with meals.”
Alabama, Louisiana and Kentucky conventions sent in the first Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams to Staten Island, and Alabama and Louisiana continue working to assist as many of the reported 20,000 families needing help with flooded homes as possible.
“There is enough work here to last a long, long time,” said Larry Teel, state coordinator for the Alabama Baptist Rapid Response Assessment Team. “Alabama will run out of resources before we can take care of what needs to happen long-term.”
The work is primarily mudout and tear out, Teel explained, noting contractors are in short supply and are charging anywhere from $3,000 to $7,000 to do what Alabama Baptist volunteers are doing for free.
Everything in the houses that got wet must be removed so the items and the houses can dry out to avoid mold and mildew issues, he said.
“We are mainly working beach-front homes,” Teel said. “The island is three miles wide and the surge came one mile inland.
“It is very slow and very difficult to average more than one job (house) a day,” he said.
On top of the sheer volume of work to be done, the work also has been impeded some by the Nov. 7 winter storm that dumped snow and ice on the area.
“We had 4 inches of snow on the ground (Nov. 8),” Teel said, noting it was still a bit icy the morning of Nov. 9.
The snow storm wasn’t the only inconvenience the team experienced. It also had to readjust its plans mid-route when the feeding unit was “stood down” the day after leaving for New York on Nov. 3.
The state feeding unit, feeding personnel, child-care personnel, communications personnel and related support equipment returned to Alabama on Nov. 4.
Logistics for setup of these teams turned out not to be conducive, and all requests for feeding units from the various states sending volunteers were canceled.
The main problem this caused for the 27 remaining Alabama Baptist volunteers was how to deal with meals in an area with so much devastation. “We are making it work,” Teel said, noting the church facility has a kitchen and church members have been helping as well.
While it has been an exercise in flexibility to some degree, it also has been “a very successful deployment,” Teel said as he and the team wrapped up their final day on the field Nov. 9.
At press time, four more Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief teams were preparing to leave for New York to keep the work going.
The 40-plus credentialed volunteers will focus on cleanup and recovery as well, said Mel Johnson, disaster relief strategist for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
“All teams have been warmly received by everyone,” he said. “The communities, the emergency management personnel, everyone has expressed nothing but thanks.
“The initial group of volunteers did experience a situation that required flexibility and did well readjusting,” he noted. “The number one rule in disaster relief is flexibility.” Teel agreed, noting the team is excited about leading a person to the Lord on Nov. 8.
“If nothing else good happens, that has,” he said. “We’ll take one salvation all day long.”
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