The heavy rains that fell in late April and early May leaving behind several inches rain have caused major flooding in Southern Illinois and the St. Louis Metro area. Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) has been monitoring the situation and called assessors. Now, multiple IBDR flood response teams are on the ground in Williamson and Franklin Counties in Illinois.
The teams in Williamson and Franklin Counties are assessing about 80 homes to see how they can best serve. State Coordinator Dwayne Doyle said, “We are working through the EMA [Emergency Management Agencies] in these two counties. There are approximately eight communities in Williamson and the city of West Frankfort. Teams began work Monday [May 8] morning cleaning homes.”
Doyle said two teams from Metro East and the Heartland Baptist Network have been sent Eureka, MO. “More volunteers in flood recovery and chaplaincy will be needed in these areas for the next few weeks,” he shared.
IBDR has over 1,600 trained volunteers who serve as part of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Disaster Relief ministry, the third largest relief agency in the United States. In the case of flooding, volunteers in their signature yellow shirts help homeowners with “mudout,” clearing flooded properties of debris and contaminated building materials, so they can begin rebuilding and recovery. Disaster Relief also responds to natural disasters by providing feeding stations, mobile kitchens, child care, and chaplains.
Trained IBDR volunteers based in the southern IBSA zones of 9 and 10 may contact their White cap to volunteer. For more information or if you are a trained volunteer in based in other zones and would like to respond, contact Debbie Muller at (217) 391-3126 or DebbieMuller@IBSA.org.