Situation
Since late December, atmospheric rivers have slammed the state of California and led to severe flooding, power outages, landslides, washouts and levee breaches. The New York Times recently estimated that 19 people have lost their lives due to this horrific series of disasters. The Biden administration has approved Governor Gavin Newsom’s request for a disaster declaration and will provide Federal aid to the 41 counties under emergency declarations. While the storms have begun to ease and meteorologists expect the rain to end soon, California residents are only beginning to grapple with the severe destruction and deaths.
CWS Response
CWS continues to engage with Northern and Southern California VOAD Chairs, our State Voluntary Agency Liaison, and local/national voluntary organizations active in disaster. Through these partnerships, we are identifying current needs, coordinating resources and participating in an efficient and expedited response. Our CWS Kits & Blankets have been offered to local partners and we are organizing logistics for shipment and distribution..
How to Help
To support CWS emergency response efforts, donations can be made online or sent to Church World Service (P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515).
Explore cwskits.org to learn about assembling and shipping CWS Kits to stock our shelves so that we can respond when the call comes following this or a similar disaster in the future.