Generous donors have helped us to assist tens of thousands of disaster survivors across the world in recent months; additional gifts now are needed to expand aid efforts after severe flooding in America’s Heartland region.

August 28, 2007

It has been a deadly spring and summer across the world. A particularly brutal monsoon season has killed hundreds, left tens of thousands homeless, and caused billions of dollars of damage in China, North Korea, and other parts of South Asia.

In mid-August, a massive earthquake rocked Peru; the 8.0-magnitude temblor killed more than 500, injured thousands, and left up to 100,000 homeless. Most recently, deadly Hurricane Dean waged a path of destruction across the Caribbean and Central America.

In each instance, our emergency teams were able to respond quickly, providing desperately needed aid to tens of thousands of families and children affected by these terrifying events — thanks to those who have donated generously to World Vision's Disaster Response fund.

Digging Deep

Now, World Vision is seeking to gather more resources to assist flood survivors in Oklahoma. Late last week, relief staff and volunteers rushed one truckload of Gifts-in-Kind products to the flood-soaked state. These responders were from our partner organization, the Salvation Army, with whom World Vision is distributing the supplies to the affected residents most in need.

"If we had more emergency items, we could do more," says Wayne Rankin, World Vision's domestic disaster relief director.

'State of Emergency'

The shipment included food, cleaning supplies, paper towels, beverages, and Cardinal Health personal care kits pre-positioned at our World Vision Storehouse in northern Texas.

Severe weather, caused by remnants of Tropical Depression Erin, hit Oklahoma hard, compelling Gov. Brad Henry to declare a state of emergency for 24 counties in his state on Aug. 20. Oklahoma's Medical Examiner's Office confirmed six disaster-related fatalities that same day. More than 2,700 homes and businesses were without power across the state last week, and at the height of the power outages, more than 20,000 lacked electricity.

Oklahoma's Growing Needs

Our assessment team reports that several cities and counties in Oklahoma have been particularly hard-hit by the recent severe weather:

• In Kingfisher County, approximately 100 rural residences suffered flood damage.
• As of Aug. 22, the city of Watonga in Blaine County had been without power for four days.
• The cities of Geary and Greenfield, Okla., reportedly had at least partial electricity on Aug. 22, but were under a boil order until their water plants were back online.

Cindy Fuller, a staff member with the Arkansas-Oklahoma division of the Salvation Army, confirms that the situation in many parts of Oklahoma is worse than previously thought, noting that more emergency items will be needed to supply the growing needs.