World Compassion Coordinator Helps New York Flood Relief
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
World Compassion Network Disaster Relief Coordinator Greg Rauen recently returned from New York after assisting with distributing flood relief supplies.
Rauen traveled to Windham, N.Y., Aug. 31 to assist with those who have been affected by Hurricane Irene., and returned to Warsaw Sept. 3.
Windham is in Greene County in southeast New York in the Catskill Mountains. The area received extensive damage to homes and businesses from floods from Hurricane Irene.
Rauen traveled there to oversee distribution of 12,000 pounds of relief supplies that had been collected locally to take to New York.
WCN took flood bucket supplies and food boxes from its warehouse, and canned goods that were purchased locally.
WCN purchases the materials for the flood buckets that include rubber gloves, bleach, trash bags, and cleaning supplies the flood victims could use.
Rauen said World Compassion Network collaborated with Feed The Hungry, a disaster relief organization from South Bend, who used their tractor trailers to deliver the supplies.
Mike Metzger, Metzger Trucking, Silver Lake, also helped deliver the supplies to Windham.
When Rauen arrived in Windham, he saw flooding damage from Irene.
He said there were 12-13 inches of rain over a couple of hours late Aug. 27 and 28 before he arrived that caused flash flooding.
He saw houses knocked off their foundations, and vehicles that had been washed away by the flooding.
People were required to flee their homes because of the flooding and were staying in shelters or with relatives.
Rauen said businesses and homes were flooded.
Rauen said he saw a large sink hole that was created by erosion from flash flooding.
“I saw a house that had floated down a creek and was resting up against a bridge, and there were school buses floating down the creeks,” Rauen said.
Rauen said he assisted with unloading the flood relief supplies, and assisted in setting up a distribution center at a church in Windham.
Volunteers came to help distribute the flood relief supplies to churches and fire stations.
The church in Windham that served as the primary distribution center for relief supplies was Hope Restoration Christian Fellowship.
The village that was hardest hit was Pratsville, N.Y.
He saw mud in the street after water had receded, and there was debris stacked up on the streets that had been deposited there by the flood waters.
“You could see people covered in mud because they were trying to clean out their homes and shovel mud, and there was two to six feet of mud and water from their basements,” Rauen said.
