Chattanooga, TN - The Salvation Army is apart of local communities throughout the Southeast serving every day needs. When the storms hit, being local gives The Salvation Army the ability to deploy immediately to serve. That is exactly what The Salvation Army did Wednesday, April 27, 2011.
Numerous disaster relief teams within the Kentucky & Tennessee Division are reporting moderate, severe and catastrophic damages resulting from the recent storms—tornado, water, and hail damage. As a result, emergency disaster teams in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia have been providing food, drinks, and emotional/spiritual care for those who are affected by these storms.
Don Allen, long time Emergency Manager of Hamilton County, TN states, “In my 35 year career in emergency disaster, I have never seen this kind of devastation! I am so proud of folks like The Salvation Army who have stepped up to help. It is going to take all of us to provide the relief that is needed.”
While the first wave of Salvation Army staff & volunteers are meeting those needs, others throughout Kentucky & Tennessee are making preparations for future deployment.
Monetary donations are still needed to continue in these relief efforts. Please donate on-line to www.SalvationArmyUSA.org or by calling 1-800-Sal-Army or by texting the word “Give” to 80888 where a $10 donation will appear on your phone bill.
Status of Operations:
To view pictures of ministry in action please visiting: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62424187@N08/sets/72157626621698930/
Location specific reports are as follows:
Chattanooga, TN, Ringgold GA, and surrounding areas
Incident Commander – Ray Dalrymple
Five (5) Salvation Army Canteens – mobile feeding kitchens – are serving throughout greater Chattanooga, including Dade, Walker, and Catoosa Counties in Georgia. Within hours of the passing of the tornados, the Salvation Army was at work providing food, snacks, and drinks, along with basic staples such as batteries, candles, flashlights. In addition, there is counseling through trained Emotional & Spiritual Care staff.
Over 3000 hot meals, over 4500 refreshing drinks, over 6000 snacks and over 100 comforting prayers have been provided to those impacted by the disaster, as well as those serving.
Cleveland, TN
With the help of over 650 volunteers—giving combined over 5,000 hours— have served over 7500 meals. These meals were provided at The Salvation Army main facility, as well as those delivered to survivors unable to come in. The Salvation Army has had two mobile kitchen units in this area providing these services.
We had over 100 teams go out into 16 areas of our city and county, passing out water, sack lunches/dinners.
Through local support, additional tangible distribution to survivors is also being provided and includes: work gloves, water, baby diapers, soaps, shampoos, bread, & candy.
Dyersburg, TN
Current Incident Commander - Major Pat Bowman
South Town in Dyer County remains evacuated. Residents remain relocated into Dyersburg. The Dyer County Service Unit Emergency Disaster Service Team continues feeding those in the temporary shelter from its soup kitchen in Dyersburg. Two other churches have opened their doors to be used as shelters.
Greenville, TN
Current Incident Commander - Scott Blevins
Operations in Greenville, TN are beginning to scale back and should reach the transition stage into long term recovery later today, Sunday, May 1. Assessment will be made today as to continuing emergency operations, however, the probability is that emergency operations will wind down.
Washington County, VA
Current Incident Commander - Peggy Mullins
Operations in Washington County, concentrated mainly in the town of Glade Springs, will continue and The Salvation Army response will escalate as county emergency management have issued a further request for service as they begin allowing greater access to the hardest hit areas. An Emergency Disaster Services Team is being sent from Murfreesboro, TN with a support team and vehicle from Johnson City, TN. To date, the Bristol, TN Corps has assisted with three pallets of water, as well as four pallets of food (general snack provisions).
Henderson, KY
Current Incident Commander - Major Stewart
The Salvation Army of Henderson is currently assessing the need for continued service. The accumulation of over 1000 meals served to the communities impacted by recent storms is straining the resources of the local Salvation Army. The Salvation Army is also meeting with Emergency Management to determine if it is time to move into recovery stage.
As of April 30th, Emergency Disaster Service teams have ceased the majority of emergency operations in Henderson, KY, Murfreesboro, TN, and Clarksville, TN. Operations in these areas have progressed into the recovery phase of our services, and we will continue to provide community assistance going forward, as long as needed.
For More Information please contact: Kimberly George, Public Information Officer at: 423-503-1801 or by emailing: Kimberly_George@uss.salvationarmy.org.
About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar spent is used to carry out those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.
About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army annually helps more than 30 million Americans overcome poverty, addiction, and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need, The Salvation Army is doing the most good at 7,600 centers of operation around the country. In the first-ever listing of “America’s Favorite Charities” by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Salvation Army ranked as the country’s largest privately funded, direct-service nonprofit. For more information, visit www.SalvationArmyUSA.org. Follow us on Twitter @SalvationArmyUS and #DoingTheMostGood.