LAFAYETTE, LA (October 17, 2020) The Salvation Army is winding up its disaster services in the Acadiana area of South Louisiana. Over 99% of the power has been restored in this area and most of the residents are returning to normal activities. With the support of nine Mobile Feeding Units from across the Southeast, approximately 20,000 meals have been provided, 11,000 drinks and 14,000 snacks. There have been over 3,000 personal encounters in which emotional and spiritual care have been provided. The Salvation Army is grateful to local officials who were a valuable resource in providing information about the worst hit areas in most need of food. The strength of this operation is the mobility of the Feeding Units in their ability to get out into the communities to provide hot meals and snacks.
Lake Charles, Louisiana (October 14, 2020) – Twelve disaster response units and Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) teams hit the streets of Lake Charles, on day four of service, after Hurricane Delta tore through the area. In addition to serving meals, snacks and drinks, staff and volunteers had the opportunity to pray with more than 360 individuals on Tuesday.
Rapid Response Units and mobile kitchens, staffed by teams from The Salvation Army Texas and Arkansas/Oklahoma Divisions (AOK) and the Southern Baptist Texas Convention, delivered 7,434 meals, 5,602 drinks, and 2,817 snacks in Calcasieu and Jefferson Davis Parish on Tuesday. The fleet of disaster response vehicles and personnel from different cities, states, and organizations have quickly galvanized into an effective team under the leadership of the Incident Management Team from The Salvation Army in Texas.
“Our Incident Management Team from Texas has worked together on a number of large-scale response efforts this summer and get right to work like a well-oiled machine,” said Alvin Migues, The Salvation Army EDS Director in Texas. “It has been good to also collaborate with our colleagues from the AOK Division and long-time partners in disaster relief, the Southern Baptist Texas Convention. This group has come together very quickly and is a great example of how The Salvation Army’s disaster response and Incident Command model should function. They are doing a great job of serving the basic needs of the Lake Charles community, with many neighborhoods still without power.”
As of Tuesday, all Salvation Army units have been assigned permanent feeding stations at the following locations:
- Sulphur – 110 N. Cities Services Hwy, Sulphur (Iberia Bank)
- Sulphur – Quick Shop Store – 404 W. Napoleon Street, Sulphur, LA
- Iowa – 105 East Miller Ave., Iowa (Next to Old Subway)
- Lake Charles – Lowes, 2800 Derek Dr, Lake Charles, LA 70607
- Lake Charles – Roving -Van Buren and McKinley Sub-Division, Lake Charles
- Northeast Lake Charles – 2231 Moeling Street, Lake Charles (Old Peggy’s Superette)
- Moss Bluff – Walmart 260 Sam Houston Jones Parkway Moss Bluff, La.
- West Lake- 909 Wehrt West Lake, La
- Lacassine- Lacassine High School 409 Algonia Ave. Lacassine, La.
- Lake Charles- Sunlight Manor 343 Goos St. Lake Charles, La.
- Lake Arthur- City Hall 102 Arthur Ave. Lake Arthur, La. Welsh Baptist Church – 500 S. Adams Welsh, La.
Another important aspect of any recovery effort is coordination with local emergency management teams and partners. “We have been actively working with VOAD, the United Way, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, and Little Caesar’s Pizza.,” said Migues. “As a result of these conversations The Salvation Army will be supporting a Point of Distribution (POD) at the Lake Charles Civic Center on Thursday and Friday (October 15-16, 2020) distributing food boxes, water, hygiene kits, and tarps.”
The Salvation Army has provided 21,559 meals, 16,762 drinks, 9,993 snacks, and made 1,378 Emotional and Spiritual Care contacts since Saturday, October 10 in the Lake Charles area.
For the latest emergency disaster services news from The Salvation Army, follow the social feed on Twitter at @salarmyeds or visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. To donate to The Salvation Army’s disaster relief efforts, visit HelpSalvationArmy.org.
Jackson, MS (October 11, 2020) – Hurricane Delta made landfall overnight Friday, October 9th, near the town of Creole, Louisiana, a city in Cameron Parish with 660 residents, as a Category 2 hurricane. Creole is approximately 12 miles east, where Hurricane Laura made landfall six weeks ago. Thankfully, Hurricane Delta quickly weakened into a tropical depression and very few areas were affected.
The Salvation Army’s focus for service delivery will be Southwest Louisiana in Lake Charles and Lafayette, where there are widespread power outages. Power is being restored quickly going from 650,000 outages to 340,000 within the past 24 hours. Twenty-three shelters opened in Louisiana for emergency shelter from Delta with an overnight population of 7,419. As of 4 PM CDT on 10-10-2020, there were ten shelters open with 882 residents.
Twenty-six mobile feeding units were deployed to support service delivery in Lake Charles, Lafayette, Alexandria, and Monroe, LA. One Texas IMAT with disaster relief equipment deployed to Lake Charles on Saturday, October 10th, 2020, and one Florida IMAT with five mobile feeding units is deploying to Lafayette, Louisiana, today, October 11th, 2020. Approximately 84,000 meals are prepared for initial distribution in southwest Louisiana and other affected areas. Service delivery is predicted to last one week.
As natural disasters can increase mental stress, The Salvation Army’s Emotional & Spiritual Care HOPEline remains available. Anyone needing a caring listener – whether because of natural disaster, COVID-19, or the stress of life in general – can call 844-458-HOPE (4673) for support.
For the latest emergency disaster services news from The Salvation Army, follow the social feed on Twitter at @salarmyeds or visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. To donate to The Salvation Army’s disaster relief efforts, visit HelpSalvationArmy.org.
JACKSON, Miss. (October 10, 2020) – Hurricane Delta made landfall overnight near Creole, Louisiana, a city in Cameron Parish with 660 residents, as a Category 2 hurricane. Creole is approximately 12 miles east of where Category 4 Hurricane Laura made landfall only six weeks ago.
As of 7 AM CDT today, Delta is a tropical storm moving north/northeast near 16 mph and is expected to continue to weaken into a tropical depression later today. A motion toward the northeast is expected to begin later today and continue through Sunday night. On the forecast track, Delta’s center should move across northeastern Louisiana this morning and then across northern Mississippi and into the Tennessee Valley later today and Sunday.
There 593,308 power outages throughout Louisiana and 90,852 power outages in Mississippi. Delta has produced a vast amount of rainfall in Louisiana, with one location reporting up to 17 inches of rain. It is expected to create an additional 2-5 inches of rain, with isolated storm totals of 10 inches. These rainfall amounts will lead to flash flooding. Delta is forecast to exit the ALM Division in the northwest corner of Alabama Sunday morning.
Thirty-two mobile feeding units are on standby to respond throughout the ALM Division. Approximately 70,000 meals are ready or being prepared for initial distribution in southwest Louisiana and other affected areas. An Incident Management Team with disaster relief equipment is now heading to Lake Charles from Beaumont, Texas, and has prepped 12,000 meals to fill immediate requests. The Salvation Army ALM Division monitors tropical storm Delta closely as we prepare to serve our neighbors in need.
ALEXANDRIA, VA (October 8) — The Salvation Army is activating its Emergency Disaster Services to meet the immediate needs of survivors and first responders affected by Hurricane Delta and those still feeling the effects of Hurricanes Laura and Sally.
“This storm is heading toward an area of the country that has already seen so much destruction from hurricanes this year,” said Jeff Jellets, Emergency Disaster Services director for The Salvation Army’s Southern Territory. “The Salvation Army is still on the ground serving those affected by Laura and Sally, and we will continue to lend a hand for however long our services are needed after Delta makes landfall.”
Additional assistance will be provided by two-time GRAMMY Award winner and 2020 Billboard Music Award nominee Lauren Daigle as she teams up with The Salvation Army to provide relief to those in need in her home state. To help with relief efforts, Daigle will stream a benefit concert for those affected by Laura, Sally and now Delta on October 11 – the concert will be recorded at the historic Orpheum Theater in New Orleans, La. All proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to The Salvation Army and American Red Cross and their efforts to provide direct support, meals and shelter for those affected.
Disaster Preparedness Overview (October 8) — 3 p.m. EDT
The Salvation Army’s Southern Territory is prepared for the most extreme effects of Hurricane Delta:
- A disaster leadership team and strike force of ten (10) mobile feeding units is staging in Beaumont, Texas today; these units will quickly deploy after the storm clears to begin providing emergency assistance.
- 32 additional mobile feeding units in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi are also on standby to serve survivors and first responders
- Each mobile feeding unit can serve 500 to 1,500 meals per day
- Additional leadership personnel, feeding units, and specialized relief equipment such as mobile command posts, generators, and shower trailers based in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas, are also ready to deploy as needed.
- Thousands of ready-to-eat meals have been pre-staged and The Salvation Army is partnering with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief which is deploying a 10,000-meal capacity field kitchen to the Beaumont, Texas staging site.
- Salvation Army disaster personnel are collaborating with federal, state and local emergency management agencies and other partners to prepare for service delivery post-landfall.
- The Salvation Army is also providing emotional and spiritual care for those in the path of the storm via their Hope Hotline at 1-844-458-HOPE (4673) between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Central.
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Laura and Sally, The Salvation Army has continued to serve those impacted. In cities such as Lake Charles, La., and Pensacola, Fla., services and resources are still being provided to survivors and responders.
- The response to Hurricanes Laura and Sally (Louisiana, Texas, Florida and Alabama) to date has included:
- Over 442,000 meals served
- More than 4,600 clean-up kits handed out
- Over 4,600 orders of infant supplies delivered
- More than 7,800 people received emotional and spiritual care through our Hope Hotline and in-person meetings
- Nearly 380 Salvation Army disaster workers have given over 91,000 hours of service
A digital media kit with B-roll, a fact sheet, photography and social media assets can be found here.
With more than 7,600 centers of operation in the U.S., The Salvation Army is uniquely positioned to support survivors of widescale disasters. The storm comes on the heels of a busy hurricane season, during which The Salvation Army has been meeting ongoing needs after Hurricanes Laura and Sally.
In addition to disaster relief, The Salvation Army has been providing social services to those impacted by COVID-19. Since the beginning of March, The Salvation Army has provided over 100 million meals to those suffering from food insecurity, emotional and spiritual care to over 857,000 people in need of a caring voice and listening ear, and more than 1.6 million nights of shelter for those without a place to call home.
In light of the pandemic, The Salvation Army has evolved service delivery with extra precautions such as social distancing at food distribution sites, adapted feeding models and updated personal protective equipment requirements.
Beaumont, Texas (October 9, 2020) – Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic season, made landfall on Friday evening as a Category 2 storm near Creole, LA. The main path of the storm is almost identical to that of Hurricane Laura, which hit the Gulf Coast only six weeks ago on August 29, 2020. Several communities in the devastating path of Hurricane Laura once again have found themselves preparing their homes, and their hearts, for yet another disaster.
“The Salvation Army disaster service volunteers are incredible, coming back without hesitation to serve those affected by Hurricane Delta, with only a week or two of rest after Hurricane Laura deployment,” said Alvin Migues, Emergency Disaster Services Director for The Salvation Army in Texas. “We are blessed to have trained volunteers and employees who can pack-up and be ready to serve within a few hours. The Salvation Army is needed now, more than ever, and as long as we are able, we will serve those in need.”
The Salvation Army Texas Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) teams arrived in Beaumont on Friday afternoon and early evening, traveling from around the state and driving into heavy rain and deteriorating conditions associated with the storm. A ten-vehicle convoy consisting of Rapid Response Unit trucks, an Incident Command Center semi-trailer, housing trailers, and more pulled into The Salvation Army warehouse in Beaumont that housed the Hurricane Laura Incident Command post only a few weeks ago. The EDS team is staged close to the Louisiana border, providing convenient access to Lake Charles, LA, and will head out early on Saturday morning to assess the damage and commence service delivery.
One key feature of The Salvation Army’s disaster response model is that it is quickly scalable depending on the extent of the disaster. Immediate response begins at a local level, and additional support and resources can be called upon and deployed from neighboring cities, counties, and even states to facilitate large scale relief operations. “It amazes me to see how we can all come together and provide the essentials to those who may have lost everything,” said Linda Dowell, a volunteer from The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary in Granbury. “After just returning home from several weeks service after Hurricane Laura where I met so many people, I truly cannot fathom what they must be feeling now as the next storm arrives. That is why I am here to serve – I know I can offer a cold water, a hot meal, and a prayer.”
TALLAHASSEE, FL (October 09, 2020) – The Salvation Army of Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla counties is joining in the response to Hurricane Delta being organized by the Florida Division of The Salvation Army.
Saturday, 10 October, the canteen will pull out headed west to Louisiana to assist in the feeding and caring for those impacted by Hurricane Delta. Captain Stephan Wildish said, “We are blessed to have this equipment in Tallahassee.” He continued, “The canteen is capable of preparing and serving 1,500 meals three times a day making this a vital part of the response effort of feeding and caring for those impacted by Hurricane Delta.”
Local disaster volunteers just returned two weeks ago from helping in Lake Charles, LA. The Salvation Army has been responding and offering assistance to disaster survivors since The Great Galveston Hurricane in September 1900. To support their response, disaster training is provided every year from June to August to train and certify responders.
As natural disasters can increase mental stress, The Salvation Army’s Emotional & Spiritual Care HOPEline remains available. Anyone needing a caring listener – whether because of natural disaster, COVID-19, or the stress of life in general – can call 844-458-HOPE (4673) for support.
For the latest emergency disaster services news from The Salvation Army, follow the social feed on Twitter at @salarmyeds or visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. To donate to The Salvation Army’s disaster relief efforts, visit HelpSalvationArmy.org.
JACKSON, Miss. (October 9, 2020) As of 7 AM CDT, Hurricane Delta is a Category 3 Hurricane. Louisiana and Mississippi experienced tornado warnings overnight. No damage has been reported. Slow weakening is expected to begin as Delta approaches the northern Gulf Coast later today, with rapid decline expected after the center moves inland. Landfall is expected along the southwest Louisiana coast later this afternoon or evening. Hurricane-force winds and dangerous storm surge flooding are expected Friday afternoon and evening along the southwest and south-central Louisiana coast. Hurricane Delta is expected to produce 5 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated maximum totals of 15 inches, southwest into south-central Louisiana. The system is expected to move north, north-east crossing Mississippi, and then exiting the ALM Division in the northwest corner of Alabama early Sunday morning.
Thirty-two mobile feeding units are on standby to respond throughout the ALM Division. Approximately 70,000 meals are ready or being prepared for initial distribution in southwest Louisiana and other affected areas. An Incident Management Team with disaster relief equipment is staging in Beaumont, Texas, Friday evening for rapid deployment to Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Saturday, October 10, 2020. There are 12,000 meals on standby in Beaumont to fill immediate requests. The Salvation Army ALM Division monitors Hurricane Delta closely as we prepare to serve our neighbors in need.
As natural disasters can increase mental stress, The Salvation Army’s Emotional & Spiritual Care HOPEline remains available. Anyone needing a caring listener – whether because of natural disaster, COVID-19, or the stress of life in general – can call 844-458-HOPE (4673) for support.
For the latest emergency disaster services news from The Salvation Army, follow the social feed on Twitter at @salarmyeds or visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. To donate to The Salvation Army’s disaster relief efforts, visit HelpSalvationArmy.org.
JACKSON, Miss. (October 8, 2020) – Category 3 Hurricane Delta has made its way through the Gulf of Mexico. It’s now making its way towards Southeast Louisiana, which is still recovering from Hurricane Laura’s effects, and The Salvation Army is prepared to respond as needed. Disaster relief equipment and personnel are on standby throughout Louisiana, Texas, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Disaster response teams and 12 mobile feeding units from Texas, prepared to serve 35,000 meals, are prepping ahead of anticipated relief efforts. Incident Management Teams and mobile feeding units are being formed throughout the ALM Division to report to areas in need.
“Hurricane Delta comes with its challenges because we are still recovering from Hurricane’s Laura and Sally. Emergency Disaster Services are continuing coordination calls with state partners. Potentially impacted Corps and Service Centers are also working closely with their local Emergency Management. We are currently identifying staging areas for potentially impacted areas throughout Louisiana and Mississippi,” stated Terry Lightheart, Emergency Disaster Services Director of The Salvation Army Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi Division.
Dallas, Texas (October 8, 2020) – Hurricane Delta is expected to make landfall as a Category 2 storm on Friday along the Louisiana Gulf Coast that is still recovering from the impact Hurricane Laura. The Salvation Army has placed disaster relief resources across the state of Louisiana and in neighboring states on standby, including mobile feeding kitchens, trained personnel, and supplies. Disaster response teams and units from Texas are staging in Beaumont ahead of anticipated relief efforts.
“Many of our trained disaster personnel have spent the past several weeks serving those impacted by Hurricane Laura in Southeast Texas and the Lake Charles area. Having just returned home they are now preparing to leave again to serve those who will be affected by Hurricane Delta,” said Alvin Migues, Emergency Disaster Services Director for The Salvation Army in Texas. “Our people are trained for situations like this and are committed to helping those who find themselves in crisis. The Salvation Army will be there to help.”
An eight-person Incident Management Team from Texas will be staged in Beaumont on Friday ready to deploy and lead The Salvation Army response efforts in the area most impacted by Hurricane Delta. Five Rapid Response Units, which are modified pick-up trucks with the ability to serve food and drinks, from Granbury, Houston, Dallas (2), and Freeport have been deployed. Two mobile kitchen units, able to prepare and serve up to 1,500 meals per day, from San Angelo and Dallas are also headed to Beaumont staffed by trained disaster personnel and volunteers. Additional equipment from Texas that will support the relief efforts include a 53’ field kitchen with the capacity to produce 10,000 meals per day, a 53’ Command Post, shower trailer, 2 hand washing trailers, 53’ reefer, and a 3500 gallon water tanker.
“This has been an especially active hurricane season that has required large-scale response efforts by The Salvation Army and our partner agencies,” said Migues. “Our people are prayed-up, well trained, and ready for the challenging work ahead. We ask for your support and prayers as we travel to serve those in need.”
In times of disaster The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services staff and volunteers will typically each serve for 14 days at a time. In the early days of a response, The Salvation Army’s focus is to provide for the immediate physical needs of the first responders and storm survivors by delivering food, drinks, and snacks. Emotional and Spiritual Care is another integral component of the Army’s service. Trained staff and volunteers are available to speak with, listen to, and pray with those affected by disaster.
For the latest information on The Salvation Army relief efforts please go to disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. To support Hurricane Delta relief efforts visit www.HelpSalvationArmy.org.
Jackson, MS (October 6, 2020) – As Category 4 Hurricane Delta makes its way into the Gulf of Mexico, life-threatening storm surge and heavy rainfall is possible anywhere from Southeast Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle Thursday night through Saturday morning. The Salvation Army is monitoring the situation closely and preparing to respond as needed by placing disaster relief equipment and personnel on standby.
“The Salvation Army is prepared for Hurricane Delta,” stated Terry Lightheart, Emergency Disaster Services Director of The Salvation Army Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi Division. “We are monitoring the system in conjunction with local and state emergency management partners and national weather service agencies. We currently have seven (7) mobile feeding units ready to go and another seven (7) units on standby to provide food and hydration to those in the potentially affected areas,” Terry Lightheart added.
As natural disasters can increase mental stress, The Salvation Army’s Emotional & Spiritual Care HOPEline remains available. Anyone needing a caring listener – whether because of natural disaster, COVID-19, or the stress of life in general – can call 844-458-HOPE (4673) for support.
For the latest emergency disaster services news from The Salvation Army, follow the social feed on Twitter at @salarmyeds or visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org. To donate to The Salvation Army’s disaster relief efforts, visit HelpSalvationArmy.org.
