It is that time of year when the weather becomes unstable as warm and cold air currents are shifting due to the change of seasons. In hopes to equip you in case your area is struck by a disaster we are supplying you with some helpful links to free downloads of Preparedness material in case of a disaster. Find materials to help you prepare yourself, your family and your church What you need in a disaster supply kit.

The National Weather Service estimated as many as thirteen tornadoes touched down in North Texas, including the Dallas metro area.  Stunned viewers watched the storms play out on live TV including footage of semi-trailers flying through the air. Miraculously there have been no deaths or serious injuries reported from any of the storms including the one that damaged a nursing/rehab facility in Forney, TX.

Getting Trained Studies have shown that being trained in hands-only CPR can make the lifesaving difference when someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest. Join the millions of people  trained by the American Red Cross each year by taking a 30-minute Citizen CPR class at your local Red Cross chapter. The course teaches how the hands-only technique can save a life.

Before Disaster Strikes:  Basic Preparedness for You and Your family This video session will assist viewers in taking their first steps toward preparing for a disaster and thinking of preparedness as a way to minister to others. Topics:  Introduction Make a Plan Do Your Plan Practice and Update Your Plan Quick Review Further Resources Facilitator:  Ellen Udovich Ellen Udovich is a jointly-funded NAMB missionary and serves on the staff of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware...

Winter storms can range from a moderate snow over a few hours to a blizzard with blinding, wind-driven snow that lasts for several days. Some winter storms are large enough to affect several states, while others affect only a single community. Many winter storms are accompanied by dangerously low temperatures and sometimes by strong winds, icing, sleet and freezing rain.

Disaster Relief Update Friday, October 28, 2011 “For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower drops off, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached as the gospel to you,” 1 Peter 1:24-25 (HCSB).

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 “Listen to counsel and receive instruction so that you may be wise in later life. Many plans are in a man's heart, but the LORD's decree will prevail,” Proverbs 19:20-21 (HCSB). Disasters are never in our plan and in fact if we could, we would plan for them not to happen.

by SUSAN CRATON, Staff writer Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN Brian Hart of Glen Burnie, team leader for a group of volunteers with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief working in North Town Creek on Wednesday, tosses a section of the tree that the team had just removed from an elderly couple’s home. Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN Mako Kneale of Waldorf, a member of First Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro, works Wednesday morning with other members of her volunteer Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team ...

SBDR response needs to Irene coming into focus By Mickey Noah - 9/2/11 ALPHARETTA, Ga. – 12 Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) feeding units from seven state conventions have already cooked almost 94,000 meals for victims across the 11 states ravaged by last weekend’s Category 1 hurricane. But the work is only beginning.

By Shannon Baker LEONARDTOWN, Md. (BP)–Extensive hurricane damage in southern Maryland has kicked Baptist disaster relief teams into overdrive. “I don’t think any of us were prepared for what we saw.

North American Mission Board President, Kevin Ezell, provides an update on Southern Baptist Disaster Relief efforts ramping up in the wake of Hurricane Irene – and shares how Southern Baptists can support the effort financially. Diaster Relief Update: Aug. 31, 2011 from North American Mission Board on Vimeo.

Baptists responding in 11 Irene-affected states By Mickey Noah ALPHARETTA, Ga. – In the wake of Hurricane Irene—which has now claimed 40 lives—Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) leaders and volunteers are mobilizing quickly to mount the largest response to a natural disaster in the United States since Gulf Coast Hurricanes Ike and Gustav three years ago. Coordinated by the North American Mission Board’s disaster operations center in Alpharetta, Ga., Southern Baptists are deploying to respon...

BCM/D Disaster Relief units feed evacuees; now assessing damage from Hurricane Irene August 2011. By Shannon Baker SALISBURY, Md.—While assessment of damage done by Hurricane Irene is underway in Maryland/Delaware, volunteers from Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware’s Disaster Relief units and churches have already been at work. Kim Delamarter, from Bayside Baptist Church, Chesapeake Beach, Md., led the Disaster Relief feeding unit in Salisbury, Md., where the American Red Cross staged an em...

Hurricane Irene Irene made landfall near Cape Lookout, North Carolina, about 7:30 a.m. EDT as an 85-mph, category 1 hurricane. As the storm marches up the east coast Southern Baptist Disaster Relief leaders and volunteers are making preparation to move in behind the storm and "wash the feet" of residents from South Carolina to new England.

WASHINGTON - As Hurricane Irene moves toward the East Coast of the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is urging all residents in East Coast states to take steps now to prepare their families and businesses for hurricanes and severe weather.  For Information click here.

"I cannot imagine an experience that could be more rewarding than the week I just spent in Vermont,"  said Chris McNeil, first-time volunteer on the Vermont Flood Recovery Team. "God assembled an amazing team!  While we were a large team of 10 people, we meshed together seamlessly...these brothers and sisters in Christ will be my friends forever! We all agreed, we would rather be part of a large team and do two jobs per day (most days) than a smaller team and do one job per day.  ...

Japan Earthquake/Tsunami The Louisiana mud-out team has arrived in Japan. Pray that God will enable them to quickly make the transition to their new time zone and for the people whose hearts He has already prepared to hear His message of hope and love through these volunteers. These are the teams scheduled for Japan, please lift them and their ministries in prayer.' August 17-26 Louisiana Mud-out team August 31-September 9 Kentucky Mud-out team September 3-18 California Construction team Septemb...

This week SBDR volunteers are calling Minot, ND “The place where the Lord provides.” Set up on the north hill in the city of Minot, the Incident Command team had shopping list in hand: water tank, pressure washer, squeegees, shovels, wheel barrow and more. The items are needed to make it possible for teams to fly into the city in need and have the equipment that is required to help homeowners mud-out their flooded homes.  Photo left: Incident Commander Jack Shelby (state DR director for IL)...

Disaster relief had never appeared on Janet Angell's radar screen—not until disaster came to her backyard. Now, her neighbors in Minot, N.D. have "lost everything", and Janet is a sudden Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteer.

The 2011 disaster relief awards were presented at Eagle Eyrie Conference Center in Lynchburg, VA as a part of the 2011 Roundtable and Training event.  3 Distinct Awards: The Robert E. Dixon Award is a Hall of Fame type award. It is awarded based on a lifetime of service that helped shape the course of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.  The Joel W.

"Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news," Matthew 11:4-5 (HCSB). This is the message Jesus told John's disciples to take to the imprisoned prophet when he asked "Are you the one who is to come or should we expect someone else?" Today Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are feeding hungry people, washing dirty clothes, cleaning flooded homes, lif...

With almost 1 million Haitians still living in temporary shelters after the January 2010 earthquake, BGR’s “Rebuild Haiti” initiative is both putting up houses and helping rebuild lives as well. About 800 simple, 12x16-foot, tin-roofed, cinder block houses have been built, using locally available materials, with a goal of 6,200 homes built in the next two to three years. Communities are involved in deciding and selecting who gets the homes.

July 15, 2011 - North Dakota Flood update The sense of urgency in Minot, North Dakota seems to be increasing. Job requests have become coming into the Incident Command center at North Hill Baptist Church and shelter workers have called upon Southern Baptist Disaster Relief to provide chaplains in shelters. Residents who have lost homes and livelihoods are overcome with grief and hopelessness.

Maryland/Delaware Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers prepared 1,000 hot meals this past Saturday June 11 as part of a large-scale emergency sheltering drill sponsored by the American Red Cross of Central Maryland. The food was prepared outdoors using the mobile feeding unit equipment; 700 meals were delivered to Baltimore homeless shelters and feeding programs while the remaining meals were served to drill participants and guests who were simulating the emergency shelter “clients.” Several of ou...