Samaritan's Purse International Relief (BASED AT: Forest Park Baptist Church) - 5/11 MO Tornado

FROM THE FOREST PARK BAPTIST CHURCH WEBSITE:

Samaritan's Purse offers volunteer training at the Joplin Campus (7th and Range Line) each day at 7:30 am and 1:00 pm. You must go through this training, fill out a few forms, and sign a release to go out into the field.

----------------------------

FROM VOAD RESOURCE LIST:

Debris Removal, Chainsaw work, Skid Steer work, Roof tarping, General Clean up, free of charge

----------------------------

FROM THE SITE:

May 24, 2011
Deadly Tornado in Missouri

Samaritan’s Purse is ready to help victims of the devastating twister that hit Joplin on Sunday

A Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief Unit is on the way to Joplin, Missouri, to help victims of the massive tornado that tore through the city on Sunday, causing severe damage and killing at least 117 people.

Our staff arrived on Monday to assess damage. Our team determined that we will be able to help, and identified a church to host our staff and volunteers. We will be based at the Joplin campus of Forest Park Baptist Church. We are asking for volunteers to help with this response, and expect to begin working in storm-damaged neighborhoods by Wednesday. We will help storm victims salvage valuable possessions, remove fallen trees and debris, and make emergency repairs on storm-damaged homes.

One of our Disaster Relief Units helping with our response in Alabama wrapped up its work in Birmingham Sunday, and is moving to Missouri.

VOLUNTEER: http://spvolunteernetwork.org/

Missouri Tornado Response

Project: Missouri Tornado Response
Location: Joplin, Missouri
Length of Stay: There is no required length of stay.
Maximum Team Size: There is no limit on team size for this response.
Skills Needed: Chainsaw skills are helpful but not required.
Project Description: Samaritan’s Purse teams are responding to the Joplin, MO tornado that ripped through a densely populated part of the city, destroying or damaging as many as a quarter of the buildings in the southwest Missouri city of about 50,000 people. Much of the city's south side was leveled, with churches, schools, businesses and homes reduced to ruins.

The twister that ripped through a densely populated part of the city is the deadliest single tornado in the United States since record keeping began more than 60 years ago. It destroyed or damaged as many as a quarter of the buildings in the southwest Missouri city of about 50,000. Much of the city's south side was leveled, with churches, schools, businesses and homes reduced to ruins.

City Manager Mark said the tornado cut a path nearly six miles long and more than a half-mile wide through the center of town. It hit a hospital packed with patients and a commercial area, numerous smaller businesses and restaurants, and a grocery store. Jasper County emergency management director Keith Stammer said an estimated 2,000 buildings were damaged.

Authorities warned that the death toll is likely to climb as search and rescuers continue their work.

Samaritan’s Purse has responded to two other major storms within the past month. We sent three Disaster Relief Units when a series of violent tornadoes ripped across the heart of North Carolina in April. Two units were dispatched to Alabama when devastating twister hit Alabama in late April. We are continuing to work in the Tuscaloosa area.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP
PRAY:
# For God to comfort the people affected by the storms.

# That God would direct our staff and volunteers as we respond.

# For safety for Joplin residents and our teams as the forecast is calling for more storms.

--------------------------------

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/SamaritansPurse

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/#!/SamaritansPurse

--------------------------------

Facility record - Citizen Command Center Relief Database for Forest Park Baptist Church:

https://ccc.haghy.com/shelters/8502