Texas Baptists offer relief to victims of widespread storms

Posted: 4/27/07

Texas Baptists offer relief to
victims of widespread storms

By Barbara Bedrick

Texas Baptist Communications

From suburban Fort Worth to the Panhandle plains to the Rio Grande, Texas Baptists provided disaster relief after a series of violent storms swept through the state.

High winds, heavy rain and a tornado killed two people and damaged more than 150 homes in Tarrant County April 13, and another storm system followed a similar path 11 days later. Haltom City, just north of Fort Worth, experienced some of the worst damage from the first wave of storms.

The April 13 storm left two churches in shambles, tore roofs off homes and heavily damaged a grocery store. Ruth Gunson and her family, who live near the supermarket, tried to pick up the pieces after a tornado uprooted trees and sent limbs more than five-feet in circumference into her house, leaving two gaping holes in its roof. 

A team of Texas Baptist Men volunteers spent hours strategically working to remove the huge tree limbs from the rooftop of the Gunson’s home and cover the holes. Victim Relief Ministry chaplains assisted with clean-up efforts and provided counseling and pizza for the displaced family. They also counseled other storm victims, including the family who lost a son in the tornado.

Volunteers from Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall led by Joel Bachman worked atop damaged roofs removing huge tree limbs that dangled precariously. With climbing gear and special protective clothing, Bachman and teammate Ken Hull carefully maneuvered the trees down to the ground safely before sawing the wood into smaller pieces other workers could remove.

In the days that followed, other Texas Baptist Men volunteers from Collin, Dallas and Tarrant Baptist associations arrived to offer relief and recovery.

One week after the Haltom City tornado, more than 450 families in Tulia and Cactus turned to Texas Baptists for help after tornadoes ripped through their communities. TBM volunteers and area Baptist churches provided aid to many who lost their homes, sustained severe property damage or lacked utilities.

For tornado victims in Cactus, a town of about 3,000 people 60 miles north of Amarillo, the struggle was particularly difficult as they tried to cope with the storm’s aftermath. The tornado wiped out the Cactus water tower, destroyed about one-third of the city and knocked out electricity to more than 14,000 in the area, according to disaster relief coordinators.

“We activated the feeding unit at the Top o’ Texas Baptist Association in the Panhandle and the chainsaw team from Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo to work with victims in Tulia and Cactus,” Smith said. Four TBM volunteers from O’Donnell provided a shower unit, and TBM set up a childcare unit in Cactus.

Nearly 30 TBM chainsaw team volunteers helped dig out residents in Tulia, a town of about 5,000 people, south of Amarillo. In the first two days following the tornado, Jeff Roper, TBM incident director, said the chainsaw teams completed 10 jobs including removing dangerous tree limbs and debris from homes and streets.

Since Cactus lost electricity, storm victims traveled about 10 miles away to Dumas where the TBM feeding unit set up adjacent to the Moore County Community Center and served more than 1,500 meals a day. About 300 families stayed at a Red Cross shelter in Dumas, and according to relief coordinators, they could remain there for two to three weeks.

James Hassell, pastor of First Baptist Church in Tulia, was at a Methodist minister’s home next door to his house when the tornado hit. Before huddling in his neighbor’s basement, Hassell witnessed a funnel cloud moving towards his home.

“I saw it spewing debris everywhere, and I got kind of scared,” Hassell recalled. “It looked like it was in the vicinity of our church but … it missed the building by a few blocks.”

Baptist General Convention of Texas Congregational Strategist Charles Davenport visited with Hassell soon after the disaster, and BGCT Disaster Response provided $7,000 to assist at least four church families who either lost their homes or received severe damage from the weekend tornado. All of them were in need of immediate care, Hassell said.

Hassell noted that some victims had home insurance, but all their possessions are gone. Clothes and food were in question for many families.

Haltom City storm victim Ruth Gunson sheds tears as she's comforted by a Victim Relief Ministries chaplain. TMB volunteers helped remove debris at her damaged home.

TBM volunteers worked alongside church members in the kitchen at First Baptist Church in Tulia, cooking and serving meals. As many as 800 people were being served meals every day, Hassell noted.

Disaster relief volunteers also delivered meals to the worst-hit zone in Tulia twice a day for relief workers, law enforcement officers, volunteers and others.

“We’ve been in the damage zone since Saturday night after the tornado rolled through. There is a lot of physical labor and meals to provide,” Hassell explained.

The church also opened up its doors to a group of inmates from nearby prisons. After the inmates worked all day in the clean-up effort, they ate dinner served at the church every night by TBM and church volunteers.

Because the tornadoes were so devastating to the city, First Baptist Church of Tulia was host site for a community forum and support meeting where church members, residents and storm victims could ask questions and share their concerns.

A team of trained counselors equipped to handle crisis intervention serve on the BGCT crisis intervention team and were available to respond to questions and needs. The group of counselors in West Texas, part of Victim Relief Ministries, also held small group counseling sessions.

One Tulia family plans to rebuild after the tornado ripped off their roof.

Texas Baptist Men activated several disaster relief teams April 25 to serve in the wake of a tornado that struck around Eagle Pass and across the Rio Grande in Piedras Negras, Mexico. A tornado along the Texas-Mexico border killed at least 10 people, injured more than 70 and destroyed 20 homes.

The Permian Basin emergency food service team and a survey team from the San Antonio area served in the area, and TBM disaster relief organizers also put together clean-out teams from LaGrange, Kerrville and Pearsall. A chainsaw crew and a shower unit also were dispatched to Piedras Negras.

BGCT staff traveled to the region to provide assistance to Baptist churches and member families. Trained counselors from Buckner International and Four Baptist University of the Americas students worked alongside others to comfort grieving families.

In Piedras Negras, Baptists indicated there is an 8-block wide area that is devastated and some people were trapped under rubble.

A family from Iglesia Bautista Peniel in Eagle Pass—a husband, his pregnant wife and their 1-year-old son—said the roof of their mobile home was “ripped off like the top of a sardine can.”

BGCT Church Starter Robert Cepeda surveyed the devastation, concluding, “It looked like a bomb exploded.”