• Philip Burn

Texas Disaster Teams Serving in Familiar Lake Charles Communities After Hurricane Delta

Lake Charles, Louisiana (October 13, 2020) – After several demanding weeks serving Lake Charles communities affected after Hurricane Laura, The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services teams from Texas have returned to those same neighborhoods now beaten by Hurricane Delta. Much of the area is once again without power and The Salvation Army service continues to be focused on providing food, drinks, and emotional and spiritual care to those in crisis.

With Incident Command established in the heart of Lake Charles on Saturday, the Texas Incident Management Team quickly began to coordinate service delivery amid continuing damage assessment. Five Rapid Response Units (RRU) and two full size mobile kitchens deployed from Salvation Army locations in Texas are providing service in addition to two RRU from the Southern Baptist Texas Convention (SBTC) and three units from The Salvation Army Arkansas/Oklahoma Division.

On Monday, response teams served lunch and dinner in North Lake Charles, West Lake, Iowa, Sulphur, Lake Arthur, Welsh, and Moss Bluff. Lunch service included MRE’s, snack packs, chips, and water. SBTC prepared hot meals to be distributed for dinner. Nine units served in fix locations while three RRUs spent the day roving throughout impacted neighborhoods to better serve individuals.

“We continue to see a lot of folks who are affected by these last two storms struggle with some very basic needs but they are resilient and always thankful.,” said Alvin Migues, EDS Director for The Salvation Army in Texas. “This is a very challenging situation, not only for residents, but also from a response perspective. We hope to be able to provide at least a warm meal and a sense of hope in the coming days to the people of Lake Charles.”

The Salvation Army will be serving in the following locations on Tuesday:

• Old Circle K, 100 S Cities Services, Sulphur
• Subway, 203 E Miller Ave, Iowa
• Lowes, 2800 Derek Drive, Lake Charles
• Walmart Superstore, 260 Sam Houston Jones Parkway, Moss Bluff
• 909 Wehrt St, West Lake
• Old Peggy’s Superette, 2231 Moeling St, Lake Charles
• Quick Shop Store, 404 W. Napolean St, Sulphur
• Roving Unit – Van Buren & McKinney, Lake Charles
• Lacassine High School, 409 Algonia Ave, Lacassine
• Sunlight Manor, 343 Goos Street, Lake Charles
• City Hall, 102 Arthur Ave, Lake Arthur
• First Baptist Church, 500 S. Adams St, Welsh

“Yesterday, our unit went to the same town I served in during Hurricane Laura response. This time much of Iowa is flooded.,” said Linda Dowell, a Salvation Army EDS volunteer from Granbury, TX, serving alongside her husband David. “Many of the houses that had tarps lost them during Hurricane Delta and now ceilings have collapsed too. Please keep everyone in your prayers.”

On Monday, The Salvation Army served 5,832 meals, 4,094 drinks, and 2,575 snacks in the Lake Charles area.

For the latest information on The Salvation Army response efforts go to www.disaster.salvationarmy.org. To support Hurricane Delta relief efforts please visit www.HelpSalvationArmy.org.