United States of America

Flooding & Tornadoes – Midwest
The combination of a winter marked by unusual winter thunderstorms with severe storms and heavy rains in the spring have resulted in extensive flooding throughout Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio in the Midwest region of the United States.

Iowa: The governor of Iowa estimated that about 36,000 people in the state have been left homeless by these floods, with approximately 24,000 homeless in the city of Cedar Rapids alone. Trouble still looms for areas along the Mississippi River as levees are reinforced in nearby communities. The offices of two Habitat for Humanity affiliates were flooded and many partner families have suffered material losses as well as damage to their homes. Habitat staff and volunteers have been actively working to assist their local communities with sandbagging, cleanup, and minor repairs. The state Habitat group in Iowa is working to coordinate recovery efforts among the 36 affiliates in their state, mainly in the areas of restoring operations and helping partner families and other members of the communities they serve. As the flooding continues, Habitat will also assist other communities that lie in the path of rising waters.

Indiana: Flooding from the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers that run through northwest Indiana destroyed at least 180 homes and damaged an additional 700 homes in January. Another onslaught of warm weather and excessive rain led to more flooding in the same region in February, frustrating the efforts of communities that had already begun to cleanup from earlier flood damage. Habitat for Humanity of Lafayette has played an instrumental role in aiding long-term recovery efforts in an 8 county region in northwest Indiana. One family in White County received a new home in April 2008 thanks to the efforts of HFH of Lafayette, its White County chapter, and the volunteers that made it happen. The affiliate has also joined other organizations to help start DANI (Disaster Assistance for Northwest Indiana), a coalition of 30 faith-based and community organizations committed to restoring affected households in the area to “pre-flood wholeness”. DANI has determined that families in the area it serves still have more than $3 million in unmet needs. Affiliates in central and southern Indiana are networking with other community organizations to determine how they can best continue to promote safe, decent, and affordable shelter for the long-term in the aftermath of the disaster.

Tornado – Macon, GA
Mother’s Day 2008 was not necessarily a day of celebration for some communities as a round of severe storms and tornadoes wrecked havoc in several states across the U.S. 22 deaths were linked to severe weather activity during the weekend of May 9-11, 2008. One of the areas affected was Macon, GA, where an EF2 tornado tore through many parts of the surrounding area. Georgia emergency management officials estimated that a total of 1,479 homes were affected in Macon and the surrounding county, with 93 homes being totally destroyed. In parts of Macon, a significant amount of cleanup work remains to be completed and volunteers from Macon Area HFH are working hard to assist families in the neighborhood of Lynmore Estates. The Affiliate is also working with other groups in the community to form a long-term recovery committee that will address the ongoing needs of families that are not met through state and federal assistance. Macon Area HFH has been able to draw upon their recent disaster response experience with the damage caused by a less-severe tornado that touched down in their area in April 2007.

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