Lutheran Disaster Response is still very much engaged in helping our region come back. Meanwhile, other disasters wrecked havoc in other places. In 2018 LDR responded to 29 disasters in 17 states and territories. LDR Director, Michael Stadie told me, “LDR used to wait to come in, though we are starting to engage earlier through our Synods (geographic regions within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and our affiliates.”

Local and International Assistance

As if LDR didn’t have enough to do keeping up with disasters in the States, the organization also the ELCA’s international response agency in the global Lutheran community. The staff of this amazing organization includes two Program Directors for the US, one Program Director for international work, a Program Communicator, and a few support staff. How can such a small staff simultaneously contend with hurricanes, wild fires, tornadoes, and flooding at home and abroad?

Stadie explains, “We work through partners like Lutheran Social Service agencies and partners within the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (National VOAD) community. These entities recruit the staff and volunteers to provide direct assistance. This enables us to assure that 100 percent of donations designated for a specific disaster go to responding to that disaster. Funding for staff and their expenses comes from undesignated donations.

Harvey, Maria, Irma, Matthew & Florence

Currently LDR is responding to Hurricanes Harvey, Maria, Irma, Matthew and Florence. They are also assisting with recovery efforts following flooding in South Carolina and the California wildfires.  By the time this blog is published they may well be responding to one or more other disasters.

Supplying gift cards to the Lutheran Social Service agencies in Northern and Southern California is typical of an early LDR response following a disaster. The long-term assistance comes in the form of sending supplies for early intervention, as was the response in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.

Stadie explains, “Our area of focus for the long-term is rebuilding, volunteer coordination, and case management. We provide these services via our affiliates. We also fund unmet needs stemming from loss of personal property, construction costs, and building supplies.”

Partners in Faith; Partners in Response

Amazing things happen when partners in the faith community join together to address these catastrophic challenges. For example, the Lutheran community invited the youth attending the tri-annual National Youth Gathering in Houston last summer to help frame two houses for disaster survivors. The Mennonite community sent volunteers to finish the homes in their permanent location.

“As the church, we are a catalyst. We’re a convener and a bridge builder. We collaborate with other disaster response organizations and religious entities, both in the United States and around the world. This approach enables the greatest stewardship of resources and maximizes the impact of our response. We are a welcome partner in the disaster response community because we respect the perspectives and strengths of others.

God’s Work, Our Hands

Both government and non-government agencies play a part in responding to disasters. Lutheran Disaster Response brings a specifically faith-based approach. “We live out our ELCA motto: ‘God’s work, our hands.’  We serve all those in need , not just Lutherans, and we pay special attention to vulnerable populations, such as seniors, people with disabilities, and those struggling with generational poverty. We can to do all this because of the robust efforts of volunteers and the generous financial support of donors.”

Every disaster is local. Because of this reality, LDR works to accompany the community from immediate relief through long-term recovery. Sadie explains, “For our international work we partner closely with companion churches and other Lutheran and ecumenical relief agencies. We work together to ensure local needs are addressed.

One significant effort LDR contributes toward mitigating the destruction of a disaster is to support the local clergy. Pastors are often called on to help people impacted by the disaster. Yet few clergy are trained to be disaster responders; and are often dealing with the damage to their church facilities and perhaps their own homes. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 one local pastor lived in the church office for months. Her own home was flooded and she was too busy coordinating volunteer teams to address her own housing needs. By supporting local clergy, LDR is able to extend its reach into a disaster-impacted community.

You can read more about how a disaster impacts a community here: Long Term Disaster Response;  or Flooded Vehicles

You can help LDR help communities recover with a donation here: www.ldr.org

I was so moved by what I learned in my brief time in the Disaster Response community I wrote a book about it.  A Ready Hope: Effective Disaster Ministry for Congregations is available at Rowman & Littlefield

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If you want to see God in action, step into a disaster zone. However, before you go, take time to know what to expect. Disaster Response personnel count on informed volunteers to help communities recover. News reporters are currently focused on the repercussions from Hurricane Florence. The devastation is enormous and tragic. Again we hear heroic stories of people rescuing neighbors and strangers. We see homes, businesses, and highways surrounded by  floodwaters from rivers still rising.

Houston is one year and one month post-Harvey. We are still very much in recovery mode. Thousands still live in temporary housing. Some are rebuilding their flooded homes as money and contractors are available. Others are taking buy-out offers. Still others are in flux, and don’t know what they’re going to do.

Recovery Takes A Very Long Time

I learned during the six months I worked in disaster recovery following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that long-term recovery takes much longer than most people realize. Disasters unfold in three distinct phases: Rescue, Relief, and Recovery. Disaster professionals refer to the “Rule of Ten” in calculating how long it will take a community to fully recover from a major disaster. The relief phase lasts about ten times longer than the initial rescue phase. Communities can anticipate the long-term recovery phase will last approximately ten times longer than the relief phase.

During the rescue phase the primary focus is saving lives. After the storm has passed and helicopters and boats are no longer rescuing people and animals, the relief phase sets in. The emphasis shifts from saving lives to settling people into temporary shelters, restoring power, clearing roads, and ensuring critical services like medical facilities are operational.

Disaster Recovery Rule of Ten

In Houston, we were in active rescue mode for two weeks – 14 days. That’s how long it took for the water to start receding after falling from the sky and flowing from the reservoirs. Everyone along the Gulf Coast knows at least one person who left their home in a boat with whatever they could wear or carry. Most of us know many such people.

Applying the “Rule of Ten,” we were in relief mode for 140 days – or about four and a half months.  In our case I think it was actually longer. During this phase people moved from shelters into more permanent temporary housing. That may sound like a contradiction, but it means people left school cafeterias, church fellowship halls and giant convention centers to live in apartments, the second floor of their flooded homes, rental homes, or with friends and relatives.

During the relief phase people take stock of what was lost and what can be salvaged. Thousands of people learned first hand how to apply for financial assistance through their insurance companies and the FEMA application process.

What FEMA Does

A word about FEMA. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was never intended to be a personal bailout program for individuals. It was established to help communities rebuild critical infrastructure such as bridges, dams, highways, hospitals, and first responder facilities. FEMA has evolved to also provide individual assistance because of the number and magnitude of disasters we’ve seen in the last quarter century.

FEMA is a federal program, which means FEMA staff doesn’t come into an area until invited to do so after an area is declared a federal disaster. That happens when the state government asks for such a declaration. The state typically doesn’t respond until local officials call for help. In our modern world of instant and constant communication, all this transpires very quickly, so it often seems like FEMA gets involved instantly or criticized for not doing so

A community will be recovering long after the media trucks and reporters leave. Using the “Rule of Ten” principle, our projected long-term recovery phase from Hurricane Harvey may last up to four years – or longer. Disaster response teams were still working in New Orleans a full decade after Katrina made landfall.

Volunteers to the Rescue

This final and longest recovery phase unfolds mostly out of the public spotlight, with the exception of occasional updates around the anniversary of the disaster. During long-term recovery hundreds of paid staff and thousands of volunteers quietly work behind the scenes. They help families navigate the complex system of options available to address needs not readily covered by insurance or government assistance.

Caseworkers help individual families tap into resources to reestablish adequate housing. Mental health professionals provide workshops, counseling, and special events to help people process what they experienced to help them heal from the trauma. Volunteers come from across the country to help rebuild.

I knew virtually nothing of this until I was invited to help our regional churches deal with the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I saw first hand how non-profit agencies come together to sort out who will handle which parts of the process. Some bring in food trucks. Others locate places to store supplies until they’re needed. Still others send teams to first muck out houses or churches and then rebuild them.

National VOAD

Communities impacted by disasters rely on volunteers from faith communities to help them recover. Over a hundred non-profit organizations work collaboratively under the umbrella of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (National VOAD). Guided by four core principles – Cooperation, Communication, Coordination, and Collaboration – member organizations provide leadership to build strong, resilient communities and deliver hope in times of need.

They set up temporary offices, hire and train support staff, and organize volunteer work crews to rebuild. They offer summer camp programs for children and workshops on how to prepare for the next disaster.

Good to Know Before You Go

Here are the top five things I learned during my brief time working with disaster recovery people:

1) Send cash, gift cards or checks to one of the National VOAD organizations rather than collecting supplies and donations. Donations of material goods require staff or volunteers to sort, store, and process for distribution. Cash and gift cards let people choose their own new things and support the local economy.

2) Ask first. It may seem obvious to you what a disaster-impacted person needs, but your priorities may not be theirs. Ask them what would be helpful.

3) If you go to help clean up, ask before you pitch. What looks like junk to you, may be a precious memory someone wants to keep awhile longer, no matter how badly damaged it is.

4) Help the helpers. Doing disaster work is physically challenging and emotionally exhausting. Sometimes the best way to help a community is to find out what the front-line disaster response personnel need.

5) Don’t try to explain God’s role in the disaster. Rather, be the face of God by listening, caring, and responding as best you can.

If you volunteer to help others recover after a disaster you will surely see God in action. To learn more about what a congregation and community will likely experience the first year following a disaster, read what I learned in A Ready Hope.

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