CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – Approximately five hours after an explosion in the North Beach area of Corpus Christi yesterday, The Salvation Army was requested to provide Emergency Disaster Services on-site to victims displaced by the explosion as well as emergency responders in the area.
Major Daniel New, administrator of The Salvation Army in Corpus Christi, Texas, reports that trained Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) personnel and a stocked mobile feeding unit (canteen) were immediately dispatched and arrived on-site approximately 30 minutes after the request was made. “We were not contacted until emergency personnel were sure our equipment and personnel could enter the area safely,” Major New explains. “As soon as it was clear the danger had passed, we were requested to mobilize.”
The canteen allows Salvation Army staff to provide food and drinks to victims and emergency personnel. At any EDS response site, trained Salvation Army personnel are always available to provide emotional and spiritual counseling to victims as well as witnesses and emergency workers. “We stand ready to serve our community in any crisis situation,” Major reports. “We are equipped to meet not only their physical needs for food and hydration, but also their spiritual and emotional needs for counseling and comfort.”
Salvation Army EDS personnel and the canteen remained on-site and in service through the night, serving 200 beverages and 28 meals to victims and first responders.
The canteen and EDS returned to their Salvation Army home base in Corpus Christi after 9 this morning, once all victims and emergency personnel were clear.
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