United States of America

Flooding & Tornadoes – Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio
In 2008, the combination of unusually severe winter storms and heavy spring rains resulted in extensive flooding throughout the Midwest region of the United States.

• Iowa
  About 36,000 people were left homeless by the floods, with approximately 24,000 homeless in the city of Cedar Rapids alone. The offices of two Habitat for Humanity affiliates were flooded and many partner families suffered material losses and damage to their homes. Habitat staff and volunteers assisted their local communities with sandbagging, cleanup, and minor repairs. In addition, the Iowa state Habitat group coordinated recovery efforts among the 36 Iowan affiliates to help partner families and other members of the communities they serve.
• Indiana
  In January 2008, Flooding from the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers destroyed at least 180 homes and damaged 700 homes in Indiana. 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 of Lafayette played an instrumental role in aiding long-term recovery efforts in an 8-county region in northwest Indiana. The affiliate also joined other organizations to form Disaster Assistance for Northwest Indiana―a coalition committed to restoring affected households in the area to “pre-flood wholeness.”

Tornado – Macon, GA
Mother’s Day 2008 was not necessarily a day of celebration for some communities. A round of severe storms and tornadoes wrecked havoc in several states across the United States. Twenty two deaths were linked to severe weather activity during the weekend of May 9-11, 2008. One of the areas affected was Macon, Georgia, where an EF2 tornado tore through many parts of the surrounding area.

A total of 1,479 homes were affected in Macon and the surrounding county, with 93 homes being totally destroyed. The Macon Area Habitat assisted with cleanup and helping families in the neighborhood of Lynmore Estates. The Affiliate also worked with other community groups to form a long-term recovery committee that is addressing the ongoing needs of families that were not met through state and federal assistance.

How you can help
Donate to Habitat’s Disaster Response.