Mormon Life - Natural Disaster tag

New steeple placed on Joplin, Mo., LDS chapel as part of anniversary events

Thu, 24 May 2012 06:42:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: We're happy they're moving forward :) A steeple was placed on a chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Joplin, Mo., on May 22 as part of the Unity Walk marking the first anniversary of a deadly tornado.

Today in the Bloggernacle: A Texas-sized hailstorm hits a mission home there

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:04:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Life’s storms: “…however, the rain turned into loud pounding sounds. The wind howled fiercely. With growing concern, I got up and looked out a front window. I saw a river of water flowing down the street and through our front yard. Hailstones, solid pieces of ice the size of golf balls, were being furled horizontally at the house. I quickly backed away from the window and walked toward my husband's office. He met me in the entry way.

LDS volunteers serving communities

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:02:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

People in communities across the country are engaging in service projects this spring that will benefit and beautify their communities.

Among the countless volunteers and organizations performing service are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon Helping Hands Busy Lending a Hand

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:33:00 -0600

source: Newsroom.lds.org

With the recent tornadoes in the Midwest, in what has been a destructive tornado season so far, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) are giving needed assistance.

More than 300 Mormon Helping Hands volunteers from the Church’s Bloomington Indiana Stake (similar to a diocese) cleaned up fallen trees and debris from the 2 March tornado. Volunteers also traveled to New Albany, Pekin, Borden and Henryville, Indiana to render service to those areas that suffered severe destruction and loss.

Refugees meet basic needs with help of LDS Church

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:18:00 -0600

source: ksl.com

The worst drought in living memory has devastated the Horn of Africa, causing hundreds of thousands to flee Somalia. Some have been lucky enough to land in Utah, but most who leave end up in massive refugee camps along the border.

To see just how big the refugee camps are in Ethiopia, we had to get a bird's eye view. They aren't camps -- they are sprawling cities where boys fly kites, marriages are made, and miraculously, life marches on.

There are five refugee camps in this area of Ethiopia, which is called the Dolo region. In the oldest and largest camp, there are about 40,000 people. At the height of the crisis 6,000-7,000 people crossed the border to get in to Ethiopia every day.

The Church Is Reaching Out and Helping

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:53:00 -0600

source: news.lds.org

One year after a horrific earthquake and tsunami, prominent signs standing amid the miles and miles of devastation and destruction in Japan’s Miyagi prefecture send a one-word message of the resiliency of the people: Ganbaru, which means “hold out, stand firm, and hang in there.”

It is the same message the Church sent over and over again as it distributed immediate relief supplies after the disaster and, 12 months later, continues to support recovery efforts in the country.

Natural disasters across the globe, including the Japan quake, made 2011 the costliest year of disasters on record, according to a report issued by LDS Welfare Services. The first six months of 2011 alone saw $265 billion in economic losses—well above the previous record of $220 billion from 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck the United States’ Gulf Coast.

LDS, Catholics team up for tropical storm recovery in Philippines

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:17:00 -0600

source: sunstar.com.ph

THE Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has teamed up with the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to provide transitional houses to victims of Tropical Storm Sendong in Cagayan de Oro.

Representatives of the groups signed a memorandum of agreement last week and agreed to pledge a hefty amount of $350,000 for the construction of decent temporary houses.

Church responds following devastating tornadoes

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:45:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

More than 100 tornadoes touched down across 12 U.S. states over a recent four-day period, claiming dozens of lives and destroying thousands of homes.

No LDS members or missionaries were harmed, although three member homes in Indiana were destroyed and at least 15 others were seriously damaged. No Church buildings were impacted.

Church Humanitarian Aid Helps During Costly 2011 Disasters

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:30:00 -0700

source: Newsroom.lds.org

Mormon Life says: I love the chart at the bottom of this article that shows how the Church is helping different countries. Earthquakes, a tsunami and massive flooding have combined to make 2011 the costliest year for natural disasters on record according to a recently released Welfare Services report of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

The report indicates the first half of the year had economic losses totaling $265 billion, well above the previous record of $220 billion from 2005 (the year of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf region of the United States). Japan’s earthquake and tsunami damage alone has been estimated at $235 billion.

Over One Hundred Tornadoes Afflict Southern and Midwest United States

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:22:00 -0700

source: Newsroom.lds.org

More than 100 tornadoes in 12 separate states between 29 February and 3 March caused widespread damage and power outages in affected communities in the Southern and Midwest United States. Forty-nine deaths have been confirmed, and thousands of homes have been severely damaged or destroyed.

LDS Church sues over wildfire at Nevada ranch

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:45:00 -0700

source: standard.net

The business arm of the LDS Church is suing a contractor over a wildfire that damaged a church recreational property northeast of Las Vegas in July 2010.

LDS World: Seeing a situation so the glass is half full

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:42:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

The plan was to have a sleepy, relaxing day after church ended and a simple meal at the end of the day. Then there was the decision to put the pan of oil on the stove and go into the den to answer my cellphone. Thirty seconds later came the smell of smoke and of something burning. Walking back into the kitchen I saw the stove top, the cabinets above, cabinets to the left and the right, and the ceiling engulfed in flames.

My reaction was to yell for my husband and son who were both asleep. Matt bounded up the stairs with my husband, Reid, not far behind. I grabbed the phone and dialed 911.

Apostle visits Saints in the Land of the Rising Sun

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:45:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve and Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy spent 12 days traveling in the Asia North Area during the month of February. Stops on their itinerary included the Japan cities of Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Tokyo and Sendai, as well as many coastal cities in the Tohoku area devastated by the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011.

Accompanying Elder Oaks and Elder Hallstrom during their travels were their wives, Sister Kristen Oaks and Sister Diane Hallstrom. Also joining them for part of their travels were Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Seventy and president of the Asia North Area, Elder Michael Ringwood of the Seventy and first counselor in the Asia North Area presidency, Elder Koichi Aoyagi of the Seventy and second counselor in the Asia North Area presidency, and their wives, Sister Lesa Stevenson, Sister Rosalie Ringwood and Sister Shiroko Aoyagi.

The trick to creating food storage

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:05:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Editor's note: This article is part of a series on earthquake preparation. Read the rest of the articles here.

You’ve heard about it for years, put it off just as long. It seems so daunting, so impossible.

But it’s such an important part of emergency preparedness that it’s time to start. Come on! You can do it! Storing extra food for yourself and your family will make a difference in the event of an extended power outage, a job loss, an interruption to the food supply, a major earthquake or other potential disasters.

Church Members in Fiji Provide Humanitarian Aid to Flood Victims

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:56:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

Three stakes in the Suva, Fiji, area recently held a drive to collect food, household items, and school supplies for flood victims in northern and western Fiji.

Elder Taniela Wakolo, Area Seventy and the Church’s Fiji Service Centre manager, initiated the drive on February 6, shortly after local Church leaders were alerted about the flood. Members collected food, clothing, bedding, kitchenware, and school supplies.

Members, missionaries safe following Philippine earthquake

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:17:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

Mormon Life says: Good news. Keep the Philippines in your prayers. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the Philippine island of Negros on Monday, February 6, 2012, causing severe damage in many villages and communities.

All missionaries and members are safe. At least 22 deaths have been confirmed—most of them in the small village of Planas, where 30 houses were buried under concrete debris. The local Department of Health reports 33 wounded, and more than 82 people are still missing.

A season of storms

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:41:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Mormon Life says: The country has seen it's fair share of natural disasters this past year, and members are learning to rely on food storage, Helping Hands, and their emergency preparedness skills. A small city in Alaska is buried so deep in snow that local leaders are scrambling to find enough snow shovels to clear out the mountains of white stuff.

Sounds like the punch line of a joke — Alaska? Snow shovel shortages? But the coastal community of Cordova is indeed dealing with an unprecedented period of perpetual snowfall. Members from the Cordova Branch of the Soldatna Alaska Stake say they're trying to make the best out of an exasperating winter.

Friday Minute: Gratitude after the fire

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:48:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

When fire destroyed their Arizona home just weeks before Thanksgiving, gratitude was not Russ and Bekki Webb’s first emotion.

The date was Nov. 9, 2011.

The Webbs and their four young children were out of town, serving others. That decision saved their lives.

Children help children through humanitarian aid donations

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:18:00 -0700

source: news.lds.org

When a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami in March 2011 that caused an estimated $309 billion USD in damage in Japan, an unlikely consequence was that it affected children on both sides of the Pacific Ocean—but in different ways.

In Seattle, Washington, USA, students in Camille Churchill’s kindergarten-through-sixth-grade class at White Center Heights Elementary School were “shocked” and moved to compassion when they saw before-and-after pictures of the tsunami’s aftermath, Ms. Churchill said.

Church members among those killed in catastrophic Philippine tropical storm

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:52:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Mormon Life says: Our hearts go out to all the families who have lost loved ones in the storm. Seven Church members died during a catastrophic tropical storm that hit the southern Philippines island of Mindanao in the early hours of Dec. 17. Cyclone Washi, known in the Philippines as Sendong, dumped large amounts of rain, triggered flooding and landslides, and caused widespread destruction and hundreds of deaths. As of press time, five Latter-day Saints in the Philippines remained missing.