Alabama Christians respond to tornado disaster
In the wake of the most powerful series of tornadoes to pummel the southern United States in decades, some churches wasted no time in kick starting their disaster response efforts the day after the twisters touched down.
Six southern states were hammered by tornadoes spawned by super-cell thunderstorms at the end of April. Alabama was hit the hardest.
Despite sustaining massive property damage and loss of life, the Christian community in Alabama, the epicentre of the destruction, is conducting cleanup and relief efforts in communities most affected by the disaster.
A single massive tornado was reportedly responsible for most of the devastation at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where entire trailer parks, neighbourhoods and at least one church were destroyed. According to local churches, the scale of destruction in Tuscaloosa is unmatched anywhere else in the state.
In nearby Birmingham, the storm caused heavy damage and loss of life.
The southern U.S. hasn't endured such furious tornadoes since 1974, when numerous twisters hit 11 states and killed more than 300 people.
At the time of writing, the official death toll from the April 27 tornadoes had already reached 328 people across six states, with two-thirds of the fatalities occurring in Alabama. And the number of dead is expected to rise in the coming days as more bodies are discovered in the rubble.
"I haven't always lived here in Tuscaloosa, but I know from people who lived here all their life that there hasn't been one like this come through Tuscaloosa," Jay Walker, an employee and member of the University Church of Christ at Tuscaloosa, told ChristianWeek the day after the disaster.
After touring the disaster zone and assessing the damage, Matt Lacey, a pastor and the disaster response coordinator for the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church, was shocked by the destructive power of the wind.
"I drove around today and found an interstate [highway] light pole that had been snapped in two, which gives you an idea how powerful these tornadoes were," Lacey said from his mobile phone when contacted in the field by ChristianWeek in the early evening of April 28.
Entire neighbourhoods in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham look like war zones.
"It's pretty bad, and it'll take a while to clean up," Lacey said.
Jay Walker agrees: "Whatever you can see on TV, it doesn't do it justice."
"We have had a lot of folks in our churches that lost their homes," Lacey said. "This has affected everyone quite a bit."
Many of Alabama's church buildings were hit by the tornadoes. Lacey said at least 30 churches were either "damaged or severely damaged."
The main Central Church of Christ building in Tuscaloosa was "pretty much destroyed," Walker said.
Some churches suffered the ultimate loss.
"We have had people who passed away or had members of their family that have passed away," Lacey said of the human toll that the storms exacted.
Before the University Church of Christ launched its main relief efforts on May 2, its relief team began cooking for cleanup crews the day after disaster struck. And another team, lead by Shon Smith, the church's pastor, was working in a different part of Tuscaloosa, clearing storm debris.
The day after the storms, the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church immediately launched its layered relief strategy.
Phase one involved "getting organized as best we can, getting as many reports of damage as we can get," Lacey explained. "The next task is getting supplies to those areas."
The disaster response coordinator says certain Christian denominations tend to perform very specific tasks.
"For instance, the Baptists will come in first with the chainsaw crew and help us," Lacey said.
"Our response disaster volunteers are specifically trained to help folks clean up and repair, essentially putting a Band-Aid on the damage that has been done to their homes and churches, until professionals can come and finish the job," Lacey said.
A million people are reportedly without electricity in Alabama. Many others face many months of homelessness or reconstruction.
"The best thing we can ask for right now," said Walker, "is for people to keep praying for all these folks who lost everything and people who lost loved ones."
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
