Disaster Relief works in the south, prepares the north as Tropical Storm Fay continues in Florida

By Lauren Urtel
Aug. 20, 2008

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—Florida Baptists reach out to neighbors in South Florida as Tropical Storm Fay moves north.

After a storm-spawned tornado ripped through a mobile home community in Barefoot Bay Tuesday, Aug. 19, damaging 30 homes and injuring two people, Florida Baptist’s Disaster Relief was on site assessing damage and planning the next course of action.

Clean-up crews from the Brevard Association, led by Duke King of Central Baptist Church in Melbourne, began working Aug. 20 assist in tree-removal, debris clean-up and repairing roofs with tarps and plywood.

Larry Alloway, Regional Disaster Relief coordinator, and Terry Ryan, a Disaster Relief contract employee, traveled to Barefoot Bay with needed resources, including roofing materials.

Teams from the Brevard, Lake and Treasure Coast associations will be working in the mobile home community.

The most current National Hurricane Center shows that Fay could strengthen to a strong Tropical Storm with sustained winds of 60 to 70 miles per hour.  Rain amounts are expected to be between 5 and 12 inches or more for Northeast Florida.

Fritz Wilson, director of the Florida Baptist Convention’s Disaster Relief and Recovery Department, continues to watch the storm. Wilson met with Northeast Florida’s Red Cross to plan for the possibility of opening churches as feeding stations for those volunteering and affected by the storm.

“We are still expecting this to be a rain event, with mostly flood-related issues,” said Wilson. “We do not anticipate anything more than isolated damage caused by high waters and downed trees.”

Florida’s Disaster Relief continues to have both feeding units on alert in case a mass feeding need arises. All cleanup and recovery units also will remain on alert to respond to localized needs in their communities.

Disaster Relief leaders will continue to work with local officials and the State Emergency Operations Center to monitor the situation across the state.

As a precaution, the Florida Baptist Convention building will close at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 20 and reopen Friday, Aug. 22.