By Message Staff
WALKER – Responses to flooding and high winds in the state along with delivery of bottled water to Mississippi has made for a busy May for Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief workers.
In late April, 60 and 70 homes, as well as First Baptist Church Mamou, flooded in the southern and western parts of the town. This sparked a response from Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams. For nearly three weeks volunteers assessed and completed mud outs of homes, as well as removed pews and cleaned the carpet inside First Baptist Mamou.
Joining the North Eunice Baptist Church and Natchitoches and Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association teams, along with churches from other denominations in the community, was a group from Huntsville, Ala. During that time, Acadia Baptist Center in Eunice provided lodging and area churches provided meals for the disaster relief workers.
Meanwhile, 15 members of the Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association chainsaw crew spent time in mid-May helping homeowners near Walker clear debris after a powerful storm damaged seven homes near Highway 449 and Courtney Road. The volunteers cut trees that fell in yards and driveways in the clean-up effort.
“The homeowners were excited we were there and available,” said Freddie Arnold, a member of the Eastern Louisiana Association Disaster Relief team. “The community turned out to help one another. It’s exciting to see people come together so quickly.”
CROSSING STATE LINES
“We have absolutely no water anywhere in Vicksburg,” Mayor George Flaggs Jr. told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
The line carrying treated water from the city’s water plant to all customers broke the morning of May 17 in an area that’s currently flooded by a Mississippi River backwater.
For its part, a truck from Rolling Hills Ministries delivered four pallets of bottled water to Vicksburg, Miss., May 19. The water was delivered to City of Light Church in Vicksburg which in turned distributed it on May 20.
“When Rolling Hills Ministries heard the desperate need for water in Vicksburg, we had to respond,” said David Abernathy, director of Rolling Hills Ministries. “By your support of Rolling Hills Ministries we were able to deliver four pallets of water to a church plant in Vicksburg. The church plant spent the weekend handing out water in the name of Jesus to those in need. We’re grateful to be a resource for the local church.”
RAIN-FREE FORECAST
After several rounds of heavy rainfall this month, the forecast for the state appears to be free of any precipitation for the remainder of the week after today, May 23.
According to Mike Steele, spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the National Weather Service has drastically reduced the flood threat for much of the state. According to the National Weather Service, rainfall amounts since 10 a.m. Saturday have included 1.56 inches in Baton Rouge, 1.83 inches in Vidalia, 2.55 inches in DeRidder, 3.73 inches in Lake Charles, 4.78 inches in Boothville and 5.33 inches in Bogalusa.
