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| Sunday’s Severe Storm Outlook |
Just want to send out the “heads-up” that the Live Doppler 15 Fury Weather Team is currently monitoring the potential for severe storms on Sunday. Nothing’s set in stone yet and the overall severe chance remains low as of this post, but it does, indeed, exist as the weekend comes to a close.
NOVEMBER 12, 2013 – FORT WAYNE – Associated Churches Active in Disaster (ACAD), a ministry of Associated Churches of Fort Wayne and Allen County, today issued a statement about the response to the Typhoon Haiyan.
“We advise local Christians to pray and to provide financial support to carefully chosen organizations,” said Roger Reece, executive pastor, Associated Churches. “Prayer for victims and responders is vitally important. We also recommend that believers donate money, but so many reputable organizations are responding that we are not in a position to endorse one over another.”
The devastation and loss of life in the Philippines from Typhoon Haiyan is shocking. An estimated 10,000 people are dead. That’s just mind-boggling. If you’re like me, you feel called to do something. But what? Check out this clever video from the U.S. National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD). I’ll have some more ideas underneath it.
So, you’ve taken the hint and decided to partner with your dollars to help typhoon victims. Where do you send the dollars?
My first recommendation is for members of churches and/or other religious institutions. Look to your own faith organization. For example, I’m a member of a congregation of the Presbyterian Church USA, which has a disaster response ministry called Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). My first step, therefore, is to visit the PDA website to see if it is responding to the Philippines disaster. If you’re a United Methodist, consider the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). If you’re Lutheran, see what Lutheran Disaster Response is up to. If you’re a Jew, there’s NECHAMA. If you are Muslim, check out Islamic Relief USA. Etc., etc., you get the idea. If you don’t know what organization is responding on behalf of your faith, consult your clergy.
If there’s no response organization associated with your faith, or if you are not a member of a faith, another option is to consult the Web page of NVOAD, which produced the video public service announcement above. Nearly every bona fide national organization in the United States that’s involved in disaster response (including the faith-based organizations mentioned above) are members of NVOAD. You can find the member list here. Plus, the NVOAD site has lots of helpful information about coordinated disaster response.
So, choose the organization that best aligns with your personal philosophies and deploy your dollars to do their work. Truly, it’s the best way we can help right now.
See also: Associated Churches advises Christians on Philippines disaster
The tornado siren test that normally happens throughout Allen County, Indiana at noon on the first Wednesday of every month did not happen today. The Allen County Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notified the Allen County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) this morning that the county would not test sirens today.
ARES Emergency Coordinator Jim Moehring, KB9WWM, did not indicate in an email message why DHS canceled the test. The department, has, however, canceled tests in the past when the weather was rainy, out of fear that citizens might confuse the test with an actual tornado warning.
The National Weather Service activates weather alert radios every Wednesday morning for a weekly test and postpones the weekly test if there is a threat of severe weather on Wednesday. The NWS conducted its weekly test this morning, as usual.