Mike Gorchynski is traveling to southern Alberta today to coordinate a major housing reconstruction program in the hard-hit town of High River where record flooding left more than 4,000 homes under water in June. World Renew Disaster Response Services (DRS), anticipates spending at least a half-million dollars on the recovery effort over a two-year period.
On June 21, 2013, approximately 100,000 Albertans were evacuated from their homes in Calgary, Canmore, Bragg Creek, Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge after an unprecedented 200 mm of rain fell on the region in 36 hours. When a dam on the Bow River was overwhelmed by water the town of High River, which sits in a bowl surrounded by a system of dikes, became a lake.
Ninety-four percent of the approximately 5,000 homes in High River were damaged, some beyond repair. But hundreds of homes are repairable, and many of the families affected by the disaster will need help to recover.
Gorchynski, who did similar work with World Renew in Alabama after a super-cell tornado tore through the U.S. south-central states in 2011, will work with High River’s church and community leaders in the coming months. His responsibilities will involve training and preparing for the arrival of teams of World Renew volunteers from across North America.
“World Renew DRS responds to disasters in the U.S. and Canada, helping people who are unable to recover from floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes even though they may have received assistance from the government or other agencies,” Gorchynski says. “Our focus in Alberta is the same—we’ll work with those who are disabled, elderly, or financially just can’t afford to complete the work that needs to be done to make their home functional after a disaster.”
World Renew has had a presence in High River since the flooding peaked in early July when volunteers from Christian Reformed and other churches began assisting residents with mucking-out basements, pumping out water, and discarding ruined belongings.
World Renew DRS Director Bill Adams says that Gorchynski will “provide oversight in preparation for the arrival of the organization’s volunteer work teams, plan home repair and rebuilding work with the long-term recovery group in High River, and coordinate the logistical and on-site support of volunteer construction teams.”
Gorchynski will be joined by World Renew DRS Area Representative Ulrich Haasdyk in September when a community-wide assessment of unmet needs is planned. Haasdyk will oversee the assessment team that informs the reconstruction program. Skilled teams of World Renew DRS volunteers are planned to start arriving in High River on a regular basis in October, Gorchynski says, and will continue to rotate into the area on an ongoing basis into 2015.
In the next few weeks, Gorchynski will begin to establish, train, and work with the High River long-term recovery group to prepare for housing reconstruction after the flood. World Renew is working in Alberta in collaboration with partners Samaritan’s Purse Canada and Mennonite Disaster Services.
World Renew DRS is requesting donations and volunteers to complete the long-term reconstruction project in High River. Financial contributions can be given online, or by calling 800-730-3490 in Canada or 800-552-7972 in the U.S.
For more information about equipment donations that are needed for this response, call World Renew DRS at 800-848-5818.
To volunteer with World Renew DRS in Alberta or elsewhere in Canada or the U.S., email [email protected], go to worldnrenew.net/volunteer, or call 800-848-5818 for an application.
