After storms and tornadoes, Lutheran Disaster Response organizes in Iowa

by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service

Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is helping to organize recovery efforts after severe storms and tornadoes struck four counties in central Iowa April 13. Heather L. Feltman, executive director of LDR and director of ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, said there will be a need for a committee to organize long-term recovery efforts in the state. The Rev. Michael R. Stadie, Davenport, Iowa, LDR coordinator, has made initial contacts with local religious leaders and others to encourage the setup of such a committee.

LDR will be providing assistance to people displaced from their homes, emotional and spiritual support for those affected by disaster, care for caregivers, coordination of volunteers and long-term recovery response, and distribution of hardship grants for survivors of disasters who need assistance in covering immediate expenses.

No Lutheran church buildings sustained damage from the storms. In Iowa City more than 100 buildings received some damage, reported Feltman. A sorority house at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, was completely destroyed, she said. "Iowa City is unusually well-prepared for a disaster of this scale. Lutheran Disaster Response, (along with) other organizations, has conducted (disaster) preparedness training for many volunteer service groups" at the University of Iowa, said Feltman. "For that reason, local volunteers have already been very active in initial clean-up. The (university's) campus ministry network has been actively contacting people affected by the storms to provide spiritual care, assess unmet needs and encourage registration with the American Red Cross," she said.