Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) efforts are ongoing in response to severe weather that affected many areas of Alabama during Christmas week 2015.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), most of Alabama received upwards of 3 inches of rain between Dec. 21 and Dec. 26. Many areas received more than 5 inches during that same period, with parts of Winston, Barbour, Pike and Coffee counties reporting more than 10 inches.
On Christmas Day tornadoes touched down in Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties, causing damage to several structures and downing trees in several neighborhoods.
State of Emergency
The Associated Press reported three weather-related deaths in Alabama, two in Coffee County and one in Madison County. Governor Robert Bentley issued a State of Emergency on Dec. 24 for all Alabama counties because of heavy rainfall and flooding.
As of Jan. 8 flood warnings continued for Escambia, Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Choctaw, Wilcox, Monroe and Dallas counties as the Alabama, Escambia, Mobile and Tombigbee rivers remained above flood stage.
Disaster relief teams were working in five active areas of response during the week of Jan. 4, according to Mel Johnson, disaster relief strategist for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM). As of Jan. 8, 120 jobs were either being worked on or had been completed, Johnson reported.
Chainsaw teams from Birmingham, Friendship, North Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair and Walker Baptist associations were engaged Dec. 31 to work in the Birmingham area. Johnson reported that 120 DR volunteers were at work that day. Chaplains reported at least three decisions for Christ.
In north Alabama, a DR team from Limestone Baptist Association assisted by local volunteers provided mud-out help along the Madison/Limestone county line. Local volunteers were at work in Marshall County as well, where several roads were closed because of flooding.
The Elmore Baptist Association DR unit helped several homeowners of flooded homes with mud-out work. Mud-out teams also worked in several homes in Elba in Coffee County. Teams engaged in the response in southeast Alabama included units from Covington, Baldwin, Coffee, Columbia and Tuskegee Lee Baptist associations.
Bessemer Baptist Association DR volunteers worked the first week of January in the Bessemer area.
In a phone interview Jan. 7, Coffee Association Director of Missions John Granger said the major relief efforts had been removing furniture and drywall from flooded homes. Those efforts were wrapping up, he said, though debris removal from city streets and parks and other cleanup efforts would be ongoing for a few more days.
“As far as we know, we’re about to finish up with cleaning out flooded homes, though there will still be a need for jobs that untrained volunteers will be able to do that will be helpful to local residents,” Granger said.
Quick response
Granger estimated that 55 trained DR workers from around the state had been at work in Elba, noting that several had worked New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The teams were hosted by First Baptist Church, Elba, and stayed at The Vineyard Christian Retreat, a Coffee Association camp. The Vineyard provided breakfast and dinner daily, and local churches provided lunch for workers each day. Granger also noted the quick response by Johnson, who met with city and county officials early in the crisis, and the work of DR white hats Otis Corbitt and Dennis Mason.
Granger said the disaster relief response has had a positive influence in the community, noting words of gratitude shared on social media during the cleanup. The cooperative effort between volunteers from around the state is encouraging as well, he said.
“We appreciate so much our connectedness with the rest of Southern Baptist life. It means a lot when you have people who know what they’re doing come in to help and support us during a time of crisis,” Granger said.
For updates on DR efforts in the state or to donate to relief efforts, visit www.sbdr.org.
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