Oklahoma Tornadoes—Your Help is Needed
Volunteer Minister Disaster Response teams are active in the Grady, McClain, and Cleveland counties in Oklahoma.
On 19 May 2013 several tornadoes touched down in Shawnee Oklahoma, killing two people and levelling the Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park near Shawnee. An estimated 1-2 mile wide tornado then hit Moore County, a suburb of New Castle, Oklahoma (near Oklahoma City). Two schools were knocked down. In one, the children were gotten out safely, in the other one, the Plaza Towers Elementary School, 7 children died. Although the death toll was reported higher, it later settled down at 24 deaths, 9 of them children.
The tornado was classified as an F5 which is the strongest on the Fujita scale and means winds of 200 or more miles per hour and massive damage.
Since then there have been additional tornadoes in Oklahoma and surrounding areas.
Joava Good the Deputy National Director for Churches of Scientology Disaster Response is on site in Oklahoma and is working with the Governor of the Shawnee Nation to assist the people affected.
The Volunteer Ministers have responded to the request for help from the Shawnee Relief Centre to organize and distribute the donations that have been coming in from the local area. Many more volunteers are needed as this is a mammoth task to get these items actually out to the people who have lost their entire homes and are starting over from scratch.
Oklahoma Assessment Call
The Volunteer Ministers Advance Inspection team on the scene has an assessment and determined that 100 Volunteer Ministers are needed on the ground right now.
Volunteer Ministers in the United States needs to mobilize and answer the call now!
Contact the International Volunteer Ministers Office at:
1-800-435-7498 (USA & CANADA) or +1 323-960-1949
What is most needed and wanted is:
- Food distribution to families in outlying disaster areas & shelters
- Clean out and salvage operations of damaged or destroyed houses
- Roving assist teams to deliver to those affected
- Delivering assists to relief workers exhausted from the search efforts
- Assistance to the shelters receiving donations, directing traffic, and delivering assists
Disaster Response: What do I need to bring to Oklahoma?
The current temperature in the tornado areas in Oklahoma ranges around 80 degrees F (27 degree C) at daytime. For the next days more rain and hail is predicted. Travel as light as you can but be ready for the weather:
- State/National Identification
- Sensible comfortable, sturdy work boots for long working days
- Rain jacket
- VM T-Shirt and Jacket
- Long-sleeve shirts
- Long pants that are durable or cargo type pants
- Towel/hand cloth
- Hat or baseball cap (several, in case you lose one)
- Sunblock
- Sunglasses
- Hygiene supplies
- Sleeping bag and sleeping mat
- Thick working gloves
- Flashlight
- Pens, paper, journal
- Plastic bags large and small for dirty stuff/storage
