December 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

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Latter-day Saint volunteers help remove a tree that damaged this home in Florida.
the Cayman Islands as the eye
of the storm passed just offshore.
Two died and 50 percent
of the islands’ homes
were left uninhabitable.
The storm caused heavy
damage in Alabama and
Florida. In the United States,
52 deaths were attributed to
Ivan, and more than 440,000
homes were left without
power for days.
No missionaries or members
were hurt in any of the
affected locations.
The Church and its members
again responded to the
need for relief. Humanitarian
donations of hygiene kits,
canned goods, food boxes,
and medical supplies were
sent from bishops’ storehouses
in Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, and Texas.
Supplies were airlifted to
Grenada, Jamaica, and Grand
Cayman.
In Florida, priesthood
leaders coordinated a major
volunteer response. Many
Church members came from
hundreds of miles away to
help meet members’ needs.
Meetinghouses became shelters
and/or distribution points
for relief supplies not only
from the Church, but from
other relief agencies as well.
Hurricane Jeanne
The Caribbean didn’t
have long to recover from
Hurricane Ivan before
Hurricane Jeanne struck. On
18 September, the storm hit
Haiti, which sustained the
greatest loss of life in any of
the areas hit by the storms.
At press time, more than
1,500 people were reported
killed and another 900 people
were missing in the small
country located on the island
of Hispaniola. One of those
killed was a 70-year-old man
who was a member of the
Church. No missionaries
were serving in the areas hit
hardest. They had been evacuated
earlier in the year due
to political unrest in the area.
Hundreds of thousands
were left homeless in the
cities of Gonaïves, Port-de-
Paix, and Terre-Neuve; 800
Church members were displaced.
The majority of
the damage occurred in
Gonaïves, where 80 percent
of the area remained underwater
days after the storm’s
landfall. The city’s meetinghouse
was flooded with several
feet of water and mud. In
the city of Saint-Marc, approximately
150 members were
living in tents next to the
local meetinghouse.
Local Church leaders
responded to members’
needs with the distribution of
relief items and fast offering
funds. Sixteen pallets of
essential emergency items
were airlifted to Haiti, and
thirteen 40-foot (12-m) containers
of clothing, shoes,
blankets, and hygiene kits
were sent from the Church’s
Humanitarian Center.
The Red Cross requested
grief counselors to help many
of the people. Church Welfare
Services sent 10 counselors
to help those who had lost
everything to cope with their
circumstances and find hope
for the future.
After devastating Haiti, the
storm moved on to Florida,
making landfall on September
26. No state in the U.S. has
endured four hurricanes in a
single season in more than
Wind and waves from the hurricanes destroyed many
structures, including part of this home in Florida.