[Episcopal Relief & Development] Episcopal Relief & Development is partnering with dioceses throughout the affected areas in Texas and Louisiana as they assess the ongoing impact of Hurricane Harvey and prepare to respond.

Tropical Storm Harvey strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mile hour winds and made landfall in Texas on the evening of Friday, August 25th. It hit the Texas coast with devastating rains and flooding in the most powerful storm to hit the state in more than 50 years.

The National Weather Service called Harvey’s flooding unprecedented and “unknown and beyond anything experienced.” To date, there have been seven deaths reported and more than a dozen people have been injured. Hurricane Harvey has dropped more than 25 inches of rain on Houston, Galveston and the surrounding areas with heavy rains and flooding expected to continue for the next several days. Torrential rains and catastrophic flooding have destroyed towns along the coast and left thousands without shelter and access to emergency medical services. A total of 50 inches of rain is expected to fall by the end of the week throughout the area.

Episcopal Relief & Development staff is coordinating with the dioceses of Texas, West Texas and Western Louisiana on potential response efforts. Local church partners are checking on leaders and members and planning the use of church facilities and resources where available. Currently, assessments are limited due to safety concerns.

“Hurricane Harvey is not over yet,” said Katie Mears, director of Episcopal Relief & Development’s U.S. Disaster Program. “Heavy rains are expected throughout the week. Our team is in touch with affected dioceses while praying, gathering information and assessing potential local needs. Members of the dioceses are sheltering in place.”

Episcopal Relief & Development has partnered with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas to pilot the AlertMedia mass messaging system that was used successfully after the flooding in the Diocese of Louisiana last year. This platform has enabled the dioceses  to communicate with staff and congregational leaders to share information and assess needs. “Obtaining the status of church leaders and their properties will allow the diocese to focus on those with the greatest needs and move more quickly and effectively in planning their response,” Mears said.

“Leaders in Texas and Louisiana have extensive and valuable experience with responding to disasters,” Mears continued. “While it is certainly a challenging time, this wealth of experience allows diocesan leaders to develop an effective response to present needs and compassionately provide critical information in the days and months to come.”

In response to the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said, “Long ago the prophet Malachi taught that we are all children of God by virtue of our creation by the same God. ‘Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us,’ he asked (2:10). Jesus taught the same thing when he told a story about a Good Samaritan. We are indeed all the children of God. And if we are all God’s children, then we are all brothers and sisters,” he continued. “As you know, our brothers and sisters in Texas now need our help. Our support of Episcopal Relief & Development is a tangible, practical, effective and reliable way to do that, not just in the short term, but for the long haul. Thank you for whatever you can do for together we are the human family of God.”

To enable Episcopal Relief & Development to provide critical support after the storm, please donate to the Hurricane Harvey Response Fund.

Please continue to pray for those impacted by storms and flooding, for first responders who are conducting search and rescue operations and for church communities who are reaching out to care for their members and neighbors.

A Prayer from the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas

Heavenly Father, in your Word you have given us a vision of that holy city where the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea: Behold and visit, we pray, the cities of the earth devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Sustain those displaced by the storm with food, drink, and all other bodily necessities of life. We especially remember before you all poor and neglected persons it would be easy for us to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick, and all who have none to care for them; that, among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, we may ever be defended by your gracious and ready help; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.