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U.S. Disaster Response

Explore how your gifts and our global partnerships connect local churches and communities in mission to alleviate human suffering around the world.

Clean-up and assessment after Hurricane Helene enters new phases of disaster recovery. Three conferences receive grants to prepare for long-term programs.

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UMCOR support of Project Restoration, a ministry of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, has led to the repair of 20 homes with at least 40 more to come.
“We pray for generosity and provision,” said North Georgia Bishop Robin Dease, “asking individuals, churches and organizations to contribute to UMCOR.”
In 2022, torrential rains brought severe flooding to many states in the U.S. UMCOR responded quickly and continues to accompany communities into recovery.
From Hurricane Michael in 2018 to Hurricane Ian in 2022, UMCOR remains “early in, last out” for many survivors recovering from devastating storms.
Conference Disaster Response teams from the Florida and North Carolina annual conferences explore the benefits of mobile solar-powered generators while responding in real time to power needs in Florida after Hurricane Ian.
Hurricane Ian, whose maximum sustained winds of 150 mph tied it as the fifth-strongest hurricane on record to strike the United States, made landfall in Florida on Sept. 28, 2022.
UMCOR has delivered 4,000 cleaning and hygiene kits, supplies of non-potable water and generators while ERTs help assess damage.
Areas in the Alabama-West Florida Conference has been hit by a steady stream of extreme weather disasters since Hurricane Michael struck in 2018. UMCOR has provided major support to the conference since then to meet each challenge

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Have questions? Send us an inquiry and we’ll get back to you promptly. Please direct all media inquiries to Susan Clark, chief communications officer for Global Ministries and UMCOR.

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Susan Clark, Chief Communications Officer
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800-862-4246

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Six Years, No Solution: A 500-Gallon Tank Carries Hope to West Virginia’s Forgotten

McDowell County is one of the poorest in the U.S., and the communities of Anawalt, Leckie and Gary are some of the hardest hit by the current six-year water crisis. All have Methodist churches that are part of the Welch Charge.

To ease the burden of residents who have to purchase many gallons of drinking water weekly, the Welch Charge contacted the West Virginia Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Jim McCune, for help. McCune’s United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) connection put him in touch with Global Ministries’ Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program. 

A WASH grant allowed them to obtain a 500-gallon “water buffalo.” The conference disaster response team arranged to fill the portable water buffalo from the Welch water system, the county seat of McDowell, and transport it to Gary, where residents have been supplied with refillable containers. Residents of all three towns can come to get water, and volunteers will also continue deliveries for those who need it. Meanwhile, residents, including church members, continue to advocate state and local officials for a permanent solution to their aging, compromised water infrastructure. Full Story