Responding to St. Louis-Area Flooding
News
On August 4, the U.S. National Weather Service in Saint Louis posted that the previous two weeks were the “wettest two-week period in STL ever.” Over one-third of the area’s normal annual rain (41.70") occurred between July 24 and Aug. 4. The record-shattering rains affected hundreds of homes and cars. Damage assessment teams examined 1,338 homes and found that more than 750 of them had “sustained major damage.” Of 206 businesses inspected, 131 had sustained major damage, according to Gov. Mike Parson’s office.Missouri Disaster Response was in St. Louis the week of August 1 volunteering at the Multi-Agency Resource Centers. Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARC) are organized by the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the St. Louis Area and St. Charles Community Organizations Active in Disaster, local volunteer and faith-based organizations, and other state/local agencies. MARCs are one-stop shops that pull together recovery resources in communities impacted by disasters. The Missouri Conference provided tarps and cleaning supplies to families affected by flooding. Over the course of the five MARCs, 1,744 households assisting 4,616 members of those households were assisted.
More MARCs are scheduled in the area as Missouri Disaster Response begins to shift its focus to long-term recovery efforts. Specific cleanup and rebuilding opportunities for Early Response teams will also be coordinated through the Missouri Conference Disaster Response and communicated through electronic and social media. Subscribe to the Disaster Response Newsletter for more updates. Contact Scott Burdin at sburdin@moumethodist.org if your local church ERT team is ready to serve.
Congregations are asked to focus on the following mission and service efforts:
- PRAY. Pray for the people of flood-affected areas and first responders and agencies managing assessments. Search Discipleship Ministries for worship resources during times of natural disaster, including this Communion liturgy appropriate for those celebrating communion.
- SERVE. The Missouri Conference Disaster Response Facebook page will list volunteer opportunities and locations as well as stlvolunteer.org as they come available. Specific cleanup opportunities will also be coordinated through the MO Conference Disaster Response effort and communicated through electronic and social media. Subscribe to the Disaster Response Newsletter.
- GIVE. Visit Missouri Disaster Response Online Giving. All monies stay within the state for disaster response and recovery. Consider giving a number of cleaning buckets ($75 each). For paper giving, make checks payable to: Missouri Annual Conference (memo: Disaster Response) and mail to Missouri Annual Conference, 3601 Amron Ct. Columbia, MO 65202.
The Missouri Conference center is receiving cleaning buckets that adhere to UMCOR’s standards to backfill supplies used in the St. Louis flood event and in anticipation of Kentucky flooding. Visit UMCOR’s Cleaning Kit page for kit details and assembly. Contact Scott Burdin at sburdin@moumethodist.org before dropping off kits to ensure someone can receive the kits in the warehouse.
- REPORT. If you have needs for volunteer disaster response in your community, including flood bucket requests, please contact Scott directly at sburdin@moumethodist.org.
- LEARN. Visit Missouri Annual Conference’s communication platforms to be informed of immediate needs: www.facebook.com/umcdisaster.
- TRAIN. Be ready to respond. Our next Early Response Training events will be in person in Columbia on Saturday, August 27 or Saturday, September 17. Space is limited to 20 participants per class. Learn more and register at this link.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Virtual Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARCs) Flood Resources: https://sema.dps.mo.gov/docs/resource-list-2021.pdf
- United Way 2-1-1: the 24/7 connection to agencies and resources near you. Dial 2-1-1 or 1-800-427-4626 or visit https://bit.ly/3viCB2b for more info.
- Disaster Distress Helpline number: 800-985-5990
- Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Spill Line to report orphan containers (e.g., propane): 573-634-2436