Disaster relief responds to Lufkin tornado

LUFKIN?When a tornado struck the Lufkin area on Dec. 23, the presence of Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief volunteers who live in the area benefited those affected by the storm, said SBTC DR Director Jim Richardson.

Within hours, local DR volunteers began serving with their churches to provide tarps to cover homes and buildings. For three days Southside Baptist Church sheltered some of those displaced by the storm and provided hot meals.

Once additional SBTC Disaster Relief volunteers arrived from out of town the following week, Southside became the operations base as teams responded in clean-up and recovery operations and chaplaincy, said Jim Richardson, SBTC DR director.

“We were also very fortunate that we have a very active disaster relief clean-up and recovery unit at Harmony Hills Baptist Church in Lufkin,” Richardson said.

In addition to providing tarps, the Harmony Hills team helped remove downed trees in the hours following the tornado. Out-of-town DR teams also helped with tree removal Dec. 28-30.

Local churches are continuing to do follow-up ministry and needs assessments, Richardson said.