JEFFERSON CITY – A massive tornado will devastate the Jefferson City area May 3. More precisely, a massive hypothetical tornado will devastate the Jefferson City area May 3.
The disaster simulation will be the largest Disaster Relief (DR) event in the state of Missouri, and will take place May 3-4 at the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) DR Head Quarters at 2552 High Point Road outside Jefferson City.
“We’re inviting every unit and every volunteer from Missouri,” said Dwain Carter, MBC Director of DR. “That’s 40+ recovery units, four shower units, four mobile kitchens, the communication trailer, the North American Mission Board mobile command unit and a whole lot more; Childcare, assessors and chaplains, everyone.”
The DR volunteers are also working with the State Emergency Management Agency, the City of Jefferson City and the Cole County Sheriff’s Department.
The simulation goes beyond simply going through the motions.
“It’s that, but it’s also building unity,” Carter said. “If we have another situation like Joplin, another flood or another 2007 ice storm, it will be so much better if we have all worked together before and know how each unit is going to react from the time we set foot at the incident command center on.”
Mass care/feeding units from across the state will feed the crowds, while volunteers stay in local churches. Carter is working with Jefferson City officials to find chainsaw jobs for the recovery crews while assessors and chaplains will be on foot doing actual ministry.
“I’m looking for an old flooded house along the Missouri River where we can go in and do mud out,” Carter said.
The simulation is not an introductory training course, and is for certified DR volunteers only. It begins May 3 with registration, dinner and briefing, then begins the next morning at 6 a.m. and runs through 7 p.m. For those that stay through Sunday, there will be a DR worship service.
Carter asks that attendees RSVP by emailing mbcdisasterrelief@gmail.org by April 22.
For more information, go to www.mobaptist.org/mbcdr.