| Tornado less disastrous than initially feared I feel the need to respond to the Rev. Bob Hunters commentary How Do We Respond to Disaster? I appreciate his attempt to educate readers on the steps that are taken when disaster occurs. However, he offered information that was flying around early on during the emergency phase of the La Plata tornado that simply proved to be false. In no way can we equate this tornado with the devastation caused by hurricane Andrew in Florida. Our storm simply was not as bad or worse than Andrew and it will not take years of VIM teams coming in to rebuild the communities affected. The median income of the affected homes was $54,000 and 98 percent of the victims had insurance. Most of these people had adequate insurance. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said that having a high percentage of insured and high income levels is unheard of in most disasters. This means that there will be a minimum of need for VIM teams. FEMA told me that our conference may or may not even be needed in the rebuilding phase because of all the agencies, faith communities and resources working so well together, along with the fact that the need is minimal. If and when I get a call from the agencies involved, I will post the need for VIM teams in the UMConnection and the e-connection . It would be helpful in the future if the UMConnection office is very eager to get a commentary published about the next disaster (God forbid) to call the personnel directly involved to get a more accurate account. Rev. Sheldon Reese
Washington-East District Relief Coordinator | 
Login/Register to leave comment