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July 17, 2003

Bishop White issues plea 
for flood disaster response

By Hoosier United Methodist News

INDIANAPOLIS -- In a letter circulated to all North Indiana Conference churches, Indiana Area United Methodist Bishop Woodie W. White issued a plea for physical and financial help to assist North Indiana congregations in the aftermath of July 4-10 flooding across northern Indiana.

In his plea, White wrote: "Many persons have been displaced from their homes and are faced with massive clean up and repair. Churches have been flooded and severely damaged."

He expressed his gratitude to the Rev. Paul Wohlford, NIC conference disaster team coordinator, and the NIC Disaster Teams for their work in clean up efforts.

He asked that all North Indiana United Methodist churches receive an offering asking members to contribute to flood disaster relief in the North Indiana Conference.

He asked churches to mark these contributions "North Indiana Conference Disaster Response" and send them to the North Indiana Conference Treasurer, P.O. Box 869, Marion, IN 46952. He also asked churches to send these fund immediately after receiving them to facilitate in clean up efforts.

Those interested in volunteering for clean up work may contact the following people:

• BLUFFTON: Connie Payne at 260-723-5107 or 260-723-4935

• DELPHI: Diane Quance at 574-267-8815

• BATTLEGROUND/LAFAYETTE: Russ Berkey at 765-447-2444

• DECATUR: Charles Jones at 765-643-9613

• FORT WAYNE/WAYNEDALE: Contact Mike Harris 260-747-7424

• KOKOMO: Paul Wohlford at 765-644-6221, 765-644-2721, or (cell) 765-208-1013.

Two North Indiana churches damaged extensively by storms

So far 16 insurance claims filed

Source: North Indiana Conference network e-mail

MARION, Ind. -- The recent flooding and storms have produced much damage to church buildings and property, according to Brent Williams, North Indiana Conference director of finance and administration.

"Two of our churches, Fort Wayne Calvary and Pleasant Mills (in northeast Indiana), had very extensive damage. To date there have been 16 claims filed," Williams reported on the NIC Web network.

Williams reported that under the Conference Wide Property Insurance program with Zurich flood coverage is part of the program. "It is only because we have a Conference Wide Program that we have such coverage. Most private insurers do not offer flood coverage and instruct all customers to seek Federal Flood Insurance. Zurich was the only bidder that offered this coverage," he said.

In some cases, Federal Flood Insurance Coverage would still be advisable.

"Our (NIC) program's coverage is catastrophic in nature," Williams said. "Instead of a $1,000 deductible as in many of our other property coverage, we have a $250,000 per occurrence deductible for flood and earthquake."

Williams said it took several days to get the "per occurrence" language defined for the specific situation in North Indiana. He said he was informed by Zurich that the Insurance Services Office (ISO) has determined flooding in Indiana last week to be a catastrophe and given the designation CAT 89 to flooding that occurred July 4-10.

Williams said this means that all damage Zurich determines to be a result of CAT 89 (flooding July 4 -10) will be treated as one occurrence. One $250,000 deductible will apply to the total of all such determined claims by all churches.

In his communication to the North Indiana Conference, Williams advised churches that had flood damage, no matter how small, to file a claim with Zurich. He further advised churches to move ahead with clean up and to repair damage. But he warned that filing a claim is no guarantee that a church will receive funds from insurance.

Yet to be determined is how funds will be allocated, he said. "This is the first major flood with significant damage that has occurred for a United Methodist Conference Wide Program such as the NIC," he said. Williams and his staff will be working with Zurich to decide allocation details. He advised churches to keep records and receipts of their expenses associated with the flood cleanup.

Williams also advised North Indiana churches to seek other assistance that might be made available to them through FEMA or their community. The North Indiana Conference also seeks donations to the Conference Disaster Fund as a means to help those persons and churches in need.

1,000 Indiana homes flooded

By Disaster News Network 
www.disasternews.net

More than 1,000 homes in 15 Indiana counties have been affected by flooding that began July 4 and continues nearly a week later, according to a bulletin recently issued by the Indiana State Emergency Management Agency.

While flooding has receded in some of the hardest-hit areas, such as town of Kokomo, where upwards of 500 homes have been flooded, several other areas across the state are under water, including many areas along the St. Mary's and Wabash Rivers as well as on the banks of Wildcat Creek.

Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon has declared 25 counties as disaster areas, and a request for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is awaiting possible approval from the White House.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief, Church of the Nazarene, Mennonite Disaster Service, Salvation Army, Church World Service and other faith-based groups are sending funds and disaster recovery specialists to the hardest-hit areas.

The St. Mary's River in northern Indiana has reached its highest level ever, even beyond the flood stage measured in the Great Flood of 1913 -- "the most serious flood for the state of Indiana," said hydrologist Albert Shipe at the National Weather Service office in Indianapolis. Flooding along parts of the Wabash River is the worst since 1959, he said.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that the total effect of the recent flooding will turn out to be worse than the Great Flood, he said. Chances are it won't. For example, in Marion County, the flooding is minor; the state emergency management bulletin listed 15 homes with minor flood damage there.

For the most part, the worst of the flooding in central and northern Indiana appears to be over, he said. Today marks the end of the rain for much of the state. "It appears to be over," Shipe said, "but we don't want to rule out anything."

Rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, however, brought flooding to new areas, and forced evacuations of hundreds of people.

In Fort Wayne, more than a hundred homes were evacuated beginning on Tuesday afternoon, as well as three apartment complexes and a retirement home, said Jennifer Gibson, spokeswoman for the Fort Wayne mayor's office. Flooding in the city has also put a damper on the annual "Three Rivers Festival," since two of those rivers, the St. Mary's and the Maumee, have gone out of their banks and flooded part of the festival grounds. But the flooding hasn't shut down the festival, just forced the relocation of some events as well as redirecting of the parade route. "The festival will go on as planned," Gibson said.

One town in Jay County -- New Corydon, which lies on the banks of the Wabash - has been nearly submerged by floodwater, according to Julie Hankins, director of emergency services for the Hoosier Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross.

"All I know is that the only way in there is by boat," Hankins said. At least 22 homes in the town were flooded out and inaccessible by land routes, she said. According to the state emergency bulletin, the town only has 40 houses.

Flooding in the towns of Decatur and Bluffton was apparently contained, after furious sandbagging efforts on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Amy Gage, a dispatcher at the Decatur Police Department.

On the other hand, Tippecanoe County reported between 150 and 300 homes affected, said Bill Huffer, deputy director of emergency management. Both Miami and Wayne counties each reported at least 35 affected homes. But all reports were estimates, and Mike Peconga, director of the Miami County emergency management agency said, "There's so much damage out there, and we can't even see most of it. It's still underwater."

Moreover, southwestern Indiana and southeastern Illinois are likely to see more and more flooding as northern Indiana sees less, according to NWS hydrologist Albert Shipe.

Shipe said "extensive flooding" is expected along the White River, and parts of Jennings County got more than six inches of rain in one day. A section of the Muscatatuck River rose more than 20 feet in 10 hours, he said.

All this rain will likely translate into "severe agricultural flooding" over the next week.

"So we have widespread problems in Indiana," Shipe said.

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