ELCA Disaster Response

Providing ongoing relief at home and across the globe

When disaster strikes, it’s easy to feel powerless. The potentially devastating impact of a flood, fire, or storm can seem like an insurmountable obstacle to climb -- both for survivors and bystanders. Through ELCA Disaster Response, the people of this church bring God’s comfort, healing and renewal to those who suffer the long-term effects from disasters.

When the dust settles and the media go home, we stay – to provide ongoing assistance for the sick, unemployed, homeless and grieving.

To learn more, please visit the ELCA Disaster Web site.

To visit other program and service units of the ELCA, return to the Churchwide Organization.

Current Responses

Food Crisis

World Food Crisis

The price of food is rising everywhere, affecting the most vulnerable
The cost of energy, the use of grain for fuel, and drought and floods that damage crops are factors in a global food crisis ... Read more

Myanmar cyclone

Cyclone Hits Myanmar

The most devastating natural disaster in Southeast Asia since the tsunami in 2004
Cyclone Nargis left a path of destruction in Myanmar, with a result of more than 22,000 killed and many more directly affected ... Read more

Tornado

Spring Storms in Central U.S.

Storms spawned tornadoes in five southern states
Severe storms and tornadoes have caused widespread damage and flooding across central United States ... Read more

Ongoing Responses

Gulf Coast

Katrina: Three Years Later

At the beginning of another Hurricane season, the ELCA assesses the progress made
And the relief and storm preparedness left to accomplish -- in the still-healing Gulf Coast ...Read more

Darfur

Darfur Crisis

Darfur humanitarian crisis continues
The crisis in Darfur continues even as efforts toward peace and reconcilication have been put forward through the United Nations. It has been described as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises in recent times ...Read more

Tornado

Winter Tornadoes in Southern U.S.

A series of severe storms spawned tornadoes in five southern states
The ELCA, through Lutheran Disaster Response, is beginning to assess the damage from a series of severe winter storms and tornadoes that...Read more

Featured Story


CA Wildfire 

Words of Wisdom
A simple training event in a low-risk area. That’s what Lutheran Disaster Relief coordinator La'Tresa Jester thought she was conducting in Phoenix last fall. But when the congregation’s pastor had to put her words into action, she realized she had made an impact. Read More...

Read all ELCA Disaster Response stories in Stories of Faith in Action.