Texas
Interagency Interfaith Disaster Response
e-Buzz
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15 August 2007
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STORM
ALERT
Tropical
Storm Erin
Tropical
Depression #5 has strengthened into Tropical Storm Erin. At
this time it is expected that the storm will be near the
lower or middle Texas coast by Thursday morning.
A
Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for the Texas Coast
from Freeport southward to Brownsville. A Tropical
Storm Watch means that conditions for a Tropical Storm are
possible in the above described area, usually within a 36
hour period. The storm is moving slowly at 12 mph;
wind gusts around 40 mph, and some strengthening is expected
over the next 24 hours. At this point rain accumulations
of 3-5 inches are possible along the middle Texas coast,
with some isolated incidents of 8-10 inches.
Tropical
Storm Dean
Tropical
Storm Dean has strengthened over the Central Atlantic. It
is moving at around 20 mph with sustained winds of near 60
mph. This storm appears to be 3-5 days out, with possible
landfall north of Brownsville. This storm could be
a more significant event than Erin.
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FAITH
COMMUNITIES PREPARING TO ASSIST AS NEEDED
TIDR is encouraging all congregations and
faith-based organizations to contact us, if you haven't
already, to give us a name of your Disaster Contact Person
(DCP). We need the name, phone number, cell number
and email address of your DCP. This information will
be used to give your congregation/organization up-to date
information about storms, what kind of resources may be
needed, and information about local shelters should an
evacuation of the coast be necessary.
TIDR stays in contact with the American Red Cross and the Office
of Emergency Management -- to offer communication and coordination
among the faith communities in times of emergency. If you
would like more information, please contact TIDR at (512) 458-8848
or Amy Elder (512) 627-5771; amy@tidr.org.
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Friends,
Jody Hill, Executive Director of Florida Interfaith Networking
in Disaster (FIND) alerted me to an article on
the Disaster News Network about the recent tornado in
Brooklyn. She said, "Read about the well organized
response by New York Disaster Interfaith Network, NYDIS,
to the Brooklyn tornado - A great example of how fluid
a disaster recovery can be when the Interfaith is in
place prior to the disaster. Rather than investing
weeks of time and energy organizing, services are delivered
efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of Brooklyn's
culturally diverse disaster impacted residents."
With Tropical Storms Erin and Dean approaching the Texas coast,
now is the time to be sure that you are personally prepared to
respond to disaster, and that you will be ready to support others
who are affected by disasters. August and September are
traditionally the most active months in the hurricane season; let
the strength of our central Texas faith communities join hands
and hearts as we prepare for these storms.
Peace,
Amy
Amy BeVille Elder, M.Div.
Executive Director
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Pandemic
Influenza Preparedness for Faith Communities
As
an active storm season approaches, talk about Pan Flu diminishes. However
our planning and understanding of a pandemic cannot diminish.
I am including in this newsletter a link to an article
that Scott Santibaņez, MD, MPHTM, of the Center for Disease
Control in Atlanta, Georgia, recently sent me to post on
the TIDR website. Please take a few moments to read
this article, and
look for more information about Pandemic Influenza that
will come your way through the TIDR network.
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To
donate, please mail checks to:
TIDR
5207 Airport Blvd.
Austin, TX 78751
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