The Ole Miss Baptist Student Union took a group of students to Hattiesburg to assist the Red Cross and several churches with cleanup following the tornadoes that struck Jan. 21.
The people of the Hattiesburg and surrounding areas are still dealing with the aftermath of the storm that left four dead and dozens injured.
The Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, organizations like Samaritan’s Purse and local volunteers from churches came out in droves immediately after the storm hit. Mississippi Power faced the task of restoring power to nearly 10,000 homes, local churches worked to distribute food and clothes to more than 1,000 people whose homes were destroyed and volunteers coordinated with the Red Cross and FEMA to begin removing large debris from yards and roads.
Petal, a town on the outskirts of Hattiesburg, took heavy storm damage.
“It takes your breath away how much damage there is,” Petal Mayor Hal Marx said in an interview with the Clarion-Ledger. “In 2013, we saw a house here, a house there. This time we’re seeing entire neighborhoods (damaged)…It’s easily in the hundreds of houses.”
Near the Wal-Mart store in Petal, a strip mall’s buildings were entirely leveled. Petal High, Petal Primary and Petal Elementary schools were without power heading into the school week, and Petal Upper Elementary’s building will not open again until significant repairs are made.
“Right after the storm hit, about 7:30 a.m., we had people on the ground, putting tarps on people’s roofs,” Brad Eubank, pastor of Petal First Baptist Church, said.
Petal FBC serves as the temporary headquarters for the Red Cross, Eight Days of Hope and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams.
“A lot of people don’t know this,” Eubank said. “But all the Red Cross meals that get served [during disaster relief in Mississippi] are actually served by the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams…We’ve been working almost non-stop, sending chainsaw teams and blue tarp teams out into the community to help wherever we can.”
The Baptist Student Union members spent the majority of their time in Petal working with Eubank and other members of the community to fill and distribute more than 40 boxes packed with cleaning supplies and toiletries.
“It really gives you a lot of perspective,” Jeron Adams, a sophomore psychology major, said. “I’ve helped with yard work and stuff after storms before, but never like this, not on this scale. This was so new to me.”
Work has already begun in Hattiesburg to clean up high-traffic areas, but in the poorer downtown areas, trees still lie piled on top of crumbled houses and power lines hang low over cracked pavement and splintered wood beams.
“It’s so devastating seeing people in need like this,” Nick Bushart, vice president of the BSU and coordinator of the trip, said. “I’m a firm believer that love is all about action. You can say you love people all day long, but until you get out there and show people Christ’s love for real, the things you say are pointless.”
The BSU plans to make another trip to Hattiesburg Feb. 10-12, this time with a larger group. Anyone interested in going can get more information by contacting Nick Bushart at (901) 849-0521 or by visiting the Baptist Student Union on University Avenue.
