Missouri and Oklahoma Severe Ice Storms

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is mobilizing quickly in response to the severe weather that hit many parts of the Midwest, particularly in Missouri and Oklahoma. Two incident command headquarters have been established, one in Springfield, Missouri and the other in McAlester, Oklahoma.

David Abernathy is the incident commander in Missouri and Gerald Peters is incident commander in Oklahoma. Mickey Caison is the Disaster Operation Center manager at the North American Mission Board. Terry Henderson, national disaster relief director, is coordinating the response from the field.

Arkansas and Missouri feeding units are operational in Missouri while Oklahoma feeding units are operational in their home state. Chainsaw/recovery units, shower units, assessment teams, and incident command team personnel have been activated from the following state conventions: Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Tennessee, Utah-Idaho, Texas Baptist Men, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, Mississippi, New Mexico, Alabama, Iowa, Florida, California, Wyoming, and Louisiana. 

Another storm is expected to sweep through the region this weekend, after which more conventions and units will be called out. Damage is extensive and the disaster relief response is expected to last for at least a month with long-term recovery work anticipated well beyond.