Most of the volunteers were local people of all faiths. Several Catholic nuns volunteered their time to work as interviewers at the distribution center. During its 12 days of operation, the distribution center provided assistance to 834 families-a total of 2,795 individuals. Although the warehouse and distribution center have now been phased out, Adventist Community Services was asked to set up a second warehouse operation for donated building materials. These materials will be used by various organizations that will be involved in the long term reconstruction phase of the response.
Disasters seem to occur in ever-increasing frequency.
Preparedness is the key. In February 1999, nearly 70 members from around the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference spent a weekend at Indian Creek Camp in an intensive disaster training program. It was gratifying to see many of those who had been trained using their newly acquired skills in Owensboro. Amazingly, there were no fatalities, and only 15 injuries. The southwest part of Owensboro seemed the hardest hit.