The Atlantic hurricane season is living up to its title as Hurricane Maria wreaks havoc on Puerto Rico today. The Category 4 storm came ashore this morning with winds of 155 mph, just two mph below Category 5 status.
After changing its annual meeting location from Houston to Chicago due to the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, members of the Cuba Partners Network found themselves listening to reports from their Cuban friends recounting Hurricane Irma’s slow, spinning assault on their beloved Cuba on Sept. 8.
Hurricane Irma may be gone, but the aftermath of its path across Florida is still being felt by residents, businesses and churches. FLAPDAN (Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network) held a conference call with the state’s six presbyteries and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance on Wednesday to get a general assessment of the needs in each area.
It’s called the Golden Triangle, a region about an hour and a half east of Houston. Most people had never heard of it until Hurricane Harvey. The communities in the triangle made national news when flooding cut off many residents from immediate help. Like many Texans impacted by Harvey, some homes saw minimal damage, while others had several feet of water. In the nearly three weeks since Harvey, residents have worked fast and furiously to try to return to some sense of normalcy. Churches in the area have become distribution centers for supplies such as water, diapers, food, cleaning materials and other necessities while trying to get worship and other church activities back on track.
Traveling around the area, one may wonder if there was any damage at all from Hurricane Harvey. Crews have worked overtime to remove debris from the main roadways in the city, but travel 20 minutes to the south or east and you can see the evidence for miles. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance leaders joined local church leaders over the weekend to assess the damage left by several days of Harvey’s heavy rain.
Mientras el Huracán Harvey todavía estaba en el suelo en Texas, el Programa Presbiteriana de Asistencia en Desastres (PDA) estaba preparándose para la próxima gran tormenta, el Huracán Irma. PDA ha estado ocupado continuamente con tormentas catastróficas en las últimas dos semanas.
It’s a sunny day, and a light breeze blows across Port Aransas, Texas, a small island near Corpus Christi. It’s a stark difference to the weather two week ago when Hurricane Harvey crashed into the community.
While Hurricane Harvey was still on the ground in Texas, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance was preparing for the next big storm, Hurricane Irma. PDA has been busy with back-to-back catastrophic storms in the past two weeks. On Wednesday, the Category 5 Irma, packing winds of 185 mph, tore through the northern Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands, as well as Puerto Rico. PDA has been in constant communication with communities in its path.
The road to recovery from Hurricane Harvey is just beginning in Texas. For Mission Presbytery and the Presbytery of the New Covenant, the primary task in recent days has been to maintain communication with churches and congregations in the storm’s path. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is in the midst of a six-day visit to both presbyteries to meet with leaders and help them in recovery planning.
