Disaster Relief: Update on South Carolina Flooding
Torrential rains have brought severe flooding to the Carolinas, claiming the lives of fourteen people thus far. Nearly two hundred water rescues were reported in South Carolina alone, and some eight hundred residents were displaced to due rising floods. Damage estimates in the wake of what has been described as a “thousand-year storm” are in the billions of dollars. In the first five days of October, some locales received an unprecedented twenty inches of rain. Though the rains have now moved out, flooding poses an ongoing threat—meteorologists suggest it may take two weeks for rivers to crest. Through the Disaster Relief Committee, the Church of God is responding to this disaster.
As of Wednesday, Michael Claypool, of Carolina Ministries, the regional pastor for North and South Carolina, has received no reports of damage to church buildings. In Columbia, South Carolina, First Church of God and the entire community are without running water due to flooding at the sewage and water treatment plants. The Disaster Relief Committee as Church of God Ministries is sending $2,000 to rent a trailer and buy drinking water for distribution by Pastor Richard Rusnak, of First Church of God in Columbia, and Claypool.
But we know that the needs may grow as more congregations and communities report in. The Disaster Relief Committee is continuing to monitor the needs of our congregations and communities in South Carolina. And we are continuing to be in conversation with Carolina Ministries and the National Association of the Church of God. Your prayerful support of Church of God Disaster Relief makes it possible for the Church of God to respond when disaster strikes.
UPDATE (October 8, 4:00 PM EDT): “Thanks for your help! More than 7,500 bottles of water distributed…including families and in a gang area. The church will distribute another 11,000 bottles today.”—Michael Claypool, Carolina Ministries regional pastor
Please consider donating today to the Disaster Relief Fund. You can also send your donation to Attn: Disaster Relief, Church of God Ministries, PO Box 2420, Anderson, IN 46018. Be certain to clearly designate your gift to Project #45.04502.
For questions regarding this and other disaster relief efforts in the United States and abroad, contact Stephen Lewis, 800-848-2464, ext. 2198.
