By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
SHREVEPORT – Less than a football field away from the Red River, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams are working on homes heavily damaged by the river’s recent floodwaters.
Teams arrived earlier in the week to begin work on homes throughout the Shreveport/Bossier area. The teams that are on site are the incident command, chaplains, assessors, feeding, laundry,
A member of a LBC Disaster Relief mud out unit begins the task of cleanup following the flooding from the Red River.
childcare, medical professionals and the in the trenches mud-out recovery teams.
A childcare team will arrive Saturday to give comfort and games to kids of those families seeking help from volunteer agencies of VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) as well as a variety of government agencies.
Additionally, a Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief medical team that includes a medical professional on call for physician level will be assisting in the recovery effort as well.
The wheeled units on site this week are from Bellaire Baptist, First Baptist Blanchard, Zoar Baptist, Rolling Hills Ministry, and Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association Some of these same units will join up with other units coming in next Monday. Operations will be from Eastwood Baptist Church in Haughton to Summer Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport.
A member of an LBC mud out team removes drywall from a home that was flooded by the Red River.
Outside of Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief, VOAD partners who are helping with the recovery effort are the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, The Food Bank and several local, state and Federal governmental agencies.
“It takes all these teams to make this effort a successful,” said Larry Cupper, a regional coordinator with Louisiana Baptists Disaster Relief. “This operation includes many Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from the local area as well as all across our state.”
There is mud out training at Summer Grove and at Alford Heights in Many Monday at 6 p.m. Cost is $20.
Elsewhere, a DR chain saw unit from First Baptist Church Blanchard cleared a tree that fell on the home of a 90-year-old Sarah Stokes after a small tornado knocked down trees and power lines on Laura Street in Mansfield. The unit completed five jobs, which were caused by a band of storms from tropical depression Bill, in DeSoto Parish.
