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Midwest Floods; AG Ministries Respond
By Ken Horn | June 19, 2008
We received this NEWS RELEASE earlier today:
June 19, 2008
America’s Heart Sinks as Midwest Farmers Battle Floods
Convoy of Hope distributes 380,000 lbs. of relief supplies in three states
Springfield, Mo. – Convoy of Hope is responding to growing needs of disaster victims throughout the Midwest where emotions and heartbreak are rising along with floodwaters. The organization has already distributed 280,000 pounds of water, PowerAde, cleaning supplies and paper products to flood victims in Indiana, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. The organization also provided one thousand “flood buckets” valued at $45. Convoy of Hope will provide another 100,000 lbs. of relief items today and tomorrow.
“When all is said and done the long-term impact of this could be as significant as Katrina,” said Convoy of Hope’s director of U.S. Disaster Response Kary Kingsland from Burlington, Mo. on Wednesday. “Several of the towns I visited in Iowa are submerged and the overall impact for those communities will feel like New Orleans after Katrina.”
Kingsland and Convoy of Hope’s disaster response teams have been traveling along the Iowa and Mississippi rivers since last weekend, assessing damage, creating supply lines of relief and recovery products and establishing distribution methods to assist the victims of the greatest floods to affect the United States in this lifetime.
“There are miles and miles of fields throughout Iowa and parts of Illinois that look like lakes,” Kingsland said. “Several communities like Fredonia, and Fort Madison, Iowa and Oquaka, Illinois are greatly impacted but haven’t yet received a lot of coverage in the media.”
Kingsland was visiting with people holed up in an Iowa hotel when a distressed young girl told him she had been evacuated with her parents and other Carmen, Illinois residents. Lying just across the river from Burlington, Iowa, the town of approximately 150, and several other small communities in the region, were completely submerged. “We had to evacuate our house. Only 2-inches of the top of our house was showing — we lost everything,” she said. More than 400 homes in Burlington and 600 more in the surrounding communities have suffered damage.
Convoy of Hope partnered with two Indiana churches to offer relief supplies to victims of the recent flooding there. Pastor Donald Andreason said, “They ministered to the multitudes of those suffering without a home, without a bed, without a bathroom, without a frig and without their possessions. But HOPE was given to every one that was touched by the compassion and love of these brave and courageous volunteers. There must have been close to 50 to 70 volunteers throughout the day that banded together to inspire HOPE in those that are hurting and tired. They didn’t wait for the cars and trucks to come through the line…they went out to their homes all over the city…providing helpful assistance, leaving valuable supplies and praying with so many, many individuals. Yes, we made a gigantic difference in the lives of literally hundreds of people today!”
Convoy of Hope has responded the flooding by providing water and supplies to the following communities:
Indiana
Columbus area 80,000 lbs.
Iowa
Burlington area 80,000 lbs.
Cedar Rapids 20,000 lbs.
Des Moines 20,000 lbs.
Iowa City/Coralville 20,000 lbs.
Waterloo 20,000 lbs.
Illinois
Bloomington 40,000 lbs.
Missouri
Clarksville 40,000 lbs.
Louisiana 40,000 lbs.
Canton 20,000 lbs.
Significant disasters are growing in their frequency and severity. Convoy of Hope responded to 16 U.S. disasters in 2007. The organization had already responded to 13 prior to the recent flooding that submerged much of America’s heartland, bringing the organization’s total disaster response efforts to 16 so far this year.
Please help Convoy of Hope respond to these and other disasters throughout the United States. The organization is in great need of cash donations and corporate donations of cleaning supplies. Please visit www.ConvoyofHope.org for the most recent response information or to make an online donation.
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