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STATE OFFICEDick TalleyState Disaster Relief DirectorRae JonesAdministrative AssistantVOLUNTEER STAFF
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Trivial Truths About Those Terrifying Twisters!· How long do tornadoes last?
Most tornadoes last only two or three minutes. The kind that we see in videos and the kind that do the damage we see on the news, probably average about 15 minutes.
· What is the longest continuous tornado track in recorded history?
The track of the Tri-State Tornado, in 1925, is officially 219 miles, and stands as the world record.
· How fast do tornadoes move?
They seem to average about 35 mph, but every year some are seen to stand still and others are clocked at 60 mph.
· Do they ever occur in the mountains?
Tornadoes have occurred in every kind of terrain. They are rare in mountainous areas.
· How big do tornadoes get?
Tornadoes have been known to range in diameter from 3 feet to two miles. The last one recorded to be 2 miles wide was seen near the town of Gruver in the Texas Panhandle on June 9, 1971.
· How strong a wind does it really take to blow over a mobile home?
Lightweight mobile homes can be flipped by a 60 mph wind. Heavier mobile homes may not go until 70 or 80 mph. And a tied down trailer might stay put at 110 mph.
· Where is Tornado Alley?
There are several areas that can be considered "Tornado Alley". The area from central Texas to Colorado, North Dakota and Minnesota commonly gets this label. But there is also a tornado-prone area that extends eastward from Texas to Georgia that can be considered as a Tornado Alley, and still another "alley" from Arkansas to the Ohio River and the Great Lake states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
· Are there places that are not in Tornado Alley that still get more than the average number of tornadoes?
Florida gets more small tornadoes per square mile than any other state.
· How about Hawaii?
Quite a number of waterspouts have come ashore in Hawaii and have been damaging to resorts. Those are counted as tornadoes.
· What is the heaviest thing a tornado has ever picked up?
The Pampa, Texas, tornado moved machinery that weighed more that 30,000 pounds. Freight cars are often blown sideways from their tracks.
· What is a tornado family?
A tornado family is a group of tornadoes spawned by a single thunderstorm. A "family" has had as many as 7 tornadoes, although two is much more common.
· What time during the day are they most likely to happen?
Most tornadoes occur from 5 to 9 PM. They can occur after dark, but are much less likely. The odds go down after dark, but they don't go to zero.
· Could a person actually get sucked up into the tornado?
Most people killed by tornadoes have been blown sideways. Centrifugal force throws things out. Only a very small percentage of all debris is carried aloft.
· Some 1200 tornadoes strike the United States every year.
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Cookie Crumbs
1. A Message for TBM-DR Trainers
Uniform order requests are sometimes held because the training registration forms are not timely received in the TBM DR office. Please get those forms in ASAP following the training. Occasionally, registration forms are lost in the mail so make a copy of each registration form for your files before mailing.
Except for those trainers living in the Dallas area, ID badge requests go to Plains. Check the TBM Disaster Relief website under guidelines for ID badges for detailed instructions.
2. Would you like to become more involved? There are great opportunities for volunteers of all skills. Contact your nearest Area Director listed above.
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Thankfulness
We often accept something good from someone, but never bother to show or express our gratitude. This may be the way of the world, but it has no place in the life of faith. A true Christian never forgets what God has done for him through Christ. Gratitude is important to happiness. We forget that there is satisfaction, joy and contentment in showing thankfulness to those who have been kind to us. "Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it. We may receive it gladly, with thankful hearts. For we know it is made holy by the word of God and prayer."1 Timothy 4: 4-5
"Always be joyful, Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Jesus Christ."1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
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Financial Support
TBM appreciates your prayers and support of our Disaster Relief ministry. Without your financial support we would not be able to help so many hurting people in their hour of need. You may mail a gift to TBM at 5351 Catron, Dallas, Tx 75227 or give by credit card through our website at: www.texasbaptistmen.org. If you have any questions about a financial gift please call Mickey Lenamon at 214-828-5177. |
Looking Back
The Texas Prison Invasion
In the mid-1980's violence in Texas prisons had reached unprecedented levels. Killings and stabbings were at an all-time high. An evangelistic crusade had been planned, called the "Texas Prison Invasion." There was a great deal of concern as to whether it should continue, but it did! 600 Christian volunteers "invaded" ten state prisons, six county jails and two juvenile detention centers. The revivals proved to be uplifting to the prisoners and very helpful in improving the relationship between prisoners and guards. "Professions of Faith" was the main goal of these crusades. As one of the pastors said, "We can't forget them, because so many will be coming back. How much better to win them to Christ and have them come out new people. The answer to violence in the prisons is Jesus Christ, because He is the Prince of Peace."
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Buckets
Of Hope
Clear Haitian
Customs
The first buckets have
started being distributed, after sitting for over
a month in the Port-au-Prince port, waiting for government release. It
has been a frustrating time for volunteers on site.
Over 100 containers, each holding approximately
1,500 buckets, plus other food donations, must first be released from the
port by Haitian Customs. Then, the containers cannot be opened without a
Haitian inspector present. The proposed procedure then is that the
inspectors will also follow the distribution of the buckets to the
participating pastors, and to the needy families.
Regardless of
the problems with the bureaucracy, all 155,000 Buckets of Hope will be
distributed as rapidly as possible.
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RECORD SHATTERING RAIN
DRENCHES NORTHEAST STATES
In March, record-shattering rainstorms delivered widespread flooding in the Northeast, causing state-wide damage in Rhode Island and Maine.
The storm soaked all corners of Rhode Island, pushing rivers over their banks, closing roads and schools, and requiring hundreds of people to evacuate. It was to be the most severe flooding to hit the State in more than 100 years
"None of us alive have seen the flooding that we experienced" Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri said..."This is unprecedented in our state's history."
He also cited what he called the state's "fragile economic climate" and an estimated $220 million state budget deficit. The state's unemployment rate has hovered for months around 13 percent and has long been among the highest in the nation.
Even fishermen were hit: Shellfish beds in Rhode Island and Massachusetts were closed because of sewage overflows and failures at wastewater treatment facilities caused by flooding.
Standing water pooled on, or rushed across roads in the region, making driving treacherous and forcing closures.
Interstate 95, a major East Coast thoroughfare, was flooded down to one lane in some areas of Rhode Island. In Maine, a dam in Porter let loose, sending a torrent of water down country roads.
President Obama issued disaster declarations for many areas of New England to free up federal aid to residents and households for damages caused by late winter and early spring storms.
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Eight Days in May
"There's More to Maine" was certainly an apt State slogan this Spring. Rain and mud caused millions of dollars worth of damage.
Among those stepping in to help were two teams of volunteers from TBM-DR. Ralph Rogers headed the team that went earlier in May and was reviewed in last month's newsletter.
The second team, headed by Russell Schieck, began work on May 25. The following are excerpted from the Daily Reports of Russell's group.
Standing left to right: Harold Ingram, Kim Hunter, Rachel Blea, Barbara Hood, Jack Clemmons, Kenneth Getsee, Bill Pyle. Kneeling: Robin Mullins, David Current and Dennis Kane.
James and Phyllis - The homeowners of the first job wrote a short note of appreciation..."You are a blessing, a gift from God. You restored our faith in today's busy world. You are all so dedicated, loving and giving."..."God is good and you prove that every day."
Clarinda - She had extensive damage to her home. She talked to us about a retreat she had been to the weekend before. When we finished the job, we prayed with her and presented her with a Bible signed by all of the volunteers.
Joan - When first contacted, insisted that we have a female as part of the team. She felt very insecure leaving her home. She told us that it had been a number of years since she had not eaten in front of the television. Robin spent a great deal of time visiting with her, and listening to her life story. When the work was completed we gave her a Bible. That evening, as we were sitting down to supper, Joan pulled into the driveway. We will probably never know what it took for Joan to overcome her fears, and drive to the church to be with us.
 300 year old basement - Based on the history of the home, we determined that slaves had built it. The house has a tunnel between it and the barn..."where they hid from the Indians." The homeowner made cake, punch and peanut brittle for us.
Water and mud - We next met a woman who told us that "she was always one of the first to help others, yet when her home got flooded nobody came to help her." She was very touched by the fact that strangers came to help.
Escaped on a jet-ski - When the floods came, this home owner had to leave his home on a jet-ski. Bill's team took care of the mold, and found out later that the homeowner had a serious allergy problem.
An Asian family - The wife spoke very clear, good English, while the husband had a difficult time communicating. At the time of the initial assessment, the wife wanted to know exactly "what we were about." Her husband didn't want us there without pay, he thought that it was too much work. The wife was very interested in what the team had to tell her about our Christian beliefs. She wanted to know about "this Jesus Christ." She told us that her mother was a Christian. They invited all of us to have dinner in their home on the last day. God works in mysterious ways!
Rita - There was a bit of a misunderstanding this day. We put all of the trash at the curb for the following morning's pickup. The next day we found a note from the trash people that the bags were too heavy. We then called another homeowner where we had worked earlier in the week and asked if we could use her dumpster. She said "Yes." We were later told by Rita that the City trucks had returned and picked up everything after all. We ended up being able to use the dumpster later in the week for another job.
God's guidance - Every day began and ended with devotionals. Also as part of their efforts to have opportunities to communicate God's Word with the homeowners, the teams always took enough lunch to share. It is amazing what twelve dedicated people can accomplish.
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 A Message From Dick Talley
TRIP TO HAVANA, CUBA
Cuba lies just 93 miles south of Key West, Florida, and is slightly smaller than the State of Pennsylvania, and is home to 11, 477,459 people. Its highest mountain is 6,578 feet high.
Our trip to Cuba was a multi-faceted one. We were in Havana from May 15-22. In addition to myself, Mickey Lenamon, Bill Pigott, El Alvarado, Mike Tello, Tony Garcia, David Griffin, Steven Clary and Bob Young volunteered for the trip.
TBM sent a 40-foot container of disaster relief materials, food, plastic buckets, and miscellaneous items for the local people to use. Our team met the container and helped unloaded it.
We instructed more than forty-five pastors and fifteen laymen, disaster relief cooking and water purification techniques at a camp in Matanzas. We also taught them "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby, and left 60 Spanish workbooks with them to keep.
We spent time at the Cuban Baptist Seminary in Havana, and spoke in their Chapel service. A possible location for a proposed 10-unit center for retired pastors was assessed. No commitment to participate at this time was made.
Some of our group also toured Western Cuba to look at, and evaluate, past hurricane damage.
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Tornado Facts and History
Spring is the time for enlarged bird families, colorful flowers ... and tornadoes. The season's warming trend contributes to unstable temperature contrasts that spawn big storms.
In the United States, May has historically had the most tornadoes: 176 on average. But April is the deadliest month: an average of 26 tornado-related deaths each year, over a 50-year time period.
Tornadoes form where warm moist air is trapped underneath a layer of cold, dry air. This instability is upset when the warm bottom layer gets pushed up - either by heating near the ground, or by an inflow of cold air.
As the moist air rises - sometimes 50,000 feet into the air - it cools, forming clouds and thunderstorms. If the conditions are right, the rapidly rising air will spin around a central funnel - at speeds sometimes exceeding 250 mph. A tornado technically is born when this funnel cloud touches down on the ground.
Although tornadoes are more frequent in the afternoon, they can happen anytime, even at night.
Tornadoes can occur almost anywhere in the world, but the United States is the country with the highest frequency of tornadoes. Each year there are about 1,200 tornadoes in the United States, causing about 65 fatalities and 1,500 injuries nationwide.
Twisters strike predominantly along a flat stretch of land from west Texas to North Dakota. The region is ideal for tornadoes, as dry polar air from Canada meets warm moist tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico.
Texas gets hit the most, with an average of about 110 tornadoes a year. But every state in the union has recorded at least one tornado in its past. In fact, Florida has the most tornadoes per area, but they are typically weaker.
In southern states like Arkansas and Missouri, the peak of tornado season is March through May, while in the northern states, like Iowa and Illinois, more tornadoes occur in the late spring and summer.
F-scale
In the early 1970s, a tornado damage scale, referred to as the Fujita Scale, was developed to classify high-wind events including tornadoes. The F-scale, which goes from F0 to F5, is the only widely used tornado rating method. Although wind speeds are given for different F-scale ratings, these are only estimates, as it is very hard to get reliable measurements near a twister. The rating system was refined and updated in 2004.
Violent tornadoes are less than one percent of all tornadoes, but account for 70 percent of tornado-related deaths. Some of these twisters can last more than an hour and travel hundreds of miles.
Almost 90 percent of tornadoes are weak, lasting usually less than 10 minutes and causing less than five percent of tornado-related deaths.
Memorable tornado events
A mile-wide tornado touched down near the town of Natchez, Mississippi, in 1840. It was estimated that 48 people died on land, while 269 drowned in the Mississippi River in sinking boats and steamships.
The most deadly single tornado in history was the Tri-state twister of March 18, 1925. Moving across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana at an average speed of 62 mph, this tornado covered 219 miles, killed 695 people and injured over 2000.. The wind speeds of the funnel were 261 to 318 mph. It destroyed over 15,000 homes.
Loss of life and injuries were higher than necessary due to the fact that the US Weather Bureau was not allowed to use the word "tornado" at that time because they did not want to instill fear and panic. There was also no warning system within the towns, and communications with other towns by phone and telegraph was immediately cut off.
April 3-4, 1974: In 16 hours, 148 tornadoes were recorded across 13 states. This tornado outbreak killed 330 people and injured almost 5,500.
The biggest recorded tornado was nearly two and a half miles wide. It occurred near Hallam, Neb., on May 22, 2004. It is important, however, to realize that size does not necessarily imply strength. Large tornadoes can have meager wind speeds.
By virtue of its land area and location, Oklahoma City has been hit by more tornadoes than any other city. The worst of these was on May 3, 1999, causing 36 deaths and a billion dollars worth of damage.
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TBM Offers Aid To Chilean Pastors
Television images from the fishing port of Constitucion, about 350 km south-west of the capital Santiago, showed many houses destroyed by the offshore quake and tsunami, which also washed large fishing boats onto land and flipped over cars.
There were similar scenes of devastation in other coastal towns, another coastal town, where cars were tossed on top of shattered houses, roads are destroyed and the communications system was not functioning.
Rickey Null from Terrell, Texas just returned from Nipas, Chile where he led a TBM team in rebuilding a pastor's home. The goal is to build 10 homes and churches in this earthquake stricken area of Chile.
Twenty-seven Baptist church sanctuaries suffered major damage, or were completely destroyed. Winter is upon them and the rain has begun. Some of the pastors are still living in tents. Lumber is hard to find, and the steel company that produces 80% of the roofing in Chile was destroyed by the tsunami. TBM has sent 500 sheets of metal roofing.
In Chile, churches are not eligible for loans. And in a strange twist, they cannot actually own the property. The Union (convention) owns the church properties but it is really just a legal technicality, and does not threaten the autonomy of the local church.
The best way to help in long-term recovery is to equip and train the local people to be able to accomplish this task. Texas Baptist Men sent this team to purchase equipment and provide on-the-job training. Nail guns, compressors, circular saws, chop saws and other tools were purchased in Chile. Men from various areas of Chile came and worked for over a week learning to use these helpful tools and to build this home. The men wept when they learned that these tools would be theirs to use to rebuild their homes and churches.
All of the equipment, and the cost of this team to go to Chile, is a work of faith by Texas Baptist Men. The needs are still great and much more needs to be done to help our brothers and sisters in Chile.
If you would like to help financially with this opportunity to be a part of God's activity as we minister to those in need after the earthquake, you may do so by credit card by going to our webpage, www.texasbaptistmen.org and click on donations, and then the Donate Now button. Purpose would be Disaster Relief, and in the note section type in Chile. You may also call 214.828.5351 and make a credit card donation over the phone. Checks may be made out and mailed to Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron Dallas, Texas 75227 and earmarked for Chile.
TBM is planning a trip to Chile to provide training in disaster relief work, and to train Chilean leaders in evangelism using the Evan Tell method. Spanish language tracts will also be made available.
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"Do not work for the food which perishes,
but for the food which endures to eternal life,
which the Son of Man shall give to you,
for on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal."
John 6:27
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