Religion News Service
OCEAN SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI September 19, 2005: (HPI note: The Mormon Church has a remarkable disaster preparedness program.)
Following America’s greatest natural disaster, one church stood ready to face the aftermath more than others in the area. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) always has a “disaster plan in place before the storm,” said Mary Strength, a local church member. Strength was one of more than 100 people who sought shelter in the church in nearby St. Martin, Mississippi. The building was constructed to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds and proved to be that sturdy. The only damage it had was to the steeple, and even that was minor. Shelly Craig, wife of the bishop of the Ocean Springs ward (local church), said children were in the gymnasium playing basketball by flashlight or in rooms playing games during the storm. “We had no idea the devastation that was occurring around us,” Craig said. Strength said they watched a station wagon in the parking lot being lifted and set back down repeatedly by the wind, but it never swayed over to hit the cars parked beside it. In the end, no cars were damaged in the parking lot around the church.
Both women agreed no one had anything to fear during the storm. In Strength’s diary entry for the day of the storm, Aug. 29, she wrote, “Our 72-hour kits were ready. Our year’s supply of food was in place. Our lamps were filled and the wicks trimmed. We had trained in our stake (regional) conference to know what we needed to do. Because we had prepared, we did not fear.” Mormons are taught to keep enough food at each family’s home for one year. Strength credited the church’s push for preparedness as a reason for their survival. “Our preparation has come in handy this time,” she said. Close to 1,000 volunteers from Mormon churches across the country are camped in tents in Pascagoula, St. Martin, Gulfport and Waveland each weekend. They help clean, repair and rebuild.
Strength said all the bishops in the southeast region conferenced with church leaders in Salt Lake City prior to Hurricane Katrina. They gave “input on what was needed” and where it would be needed. Trucks were loaded and sat ready and waiting to come in with supplies before the catastrophe. Because of road blocks and other factors, the trucks were delayed, but still arrived three days after the storm hit. The first truck came from Tennessee. “The storm was so big; it hit them all,” Strength said of one of the main challenges the truck drivers faced. A total of 12 semi-trucks have brought loads of supplies to the church. People in need of food, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, water, baby supplies, tarps, yard tools or other items can go by the church any day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Strength said most of the church leaders have either lost their homes or vehicles or have had serious damage. “In spite of that,” she said, “all of them have decided to fulfill their call and put aside their personal needs.”