IDABEL, Okla. (KTAL/KSHV) – Homes, businesses, and schools across Southeast Oklahoma and East Texas were devastated during Friday’s storms, but you can help. These are some of the organizations helping victims of the storms.
Oklahoma
The American Red Cross estimates 185 structures in Idabel were damaged, and dozens of residents are now homeless. One man was found dead in his home north of Idabel. Home and business damage should be reported to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management online.
Bypass Church of Christ is providing assistance for those in Idabel who lost their homes during the storm. They offer snacks and water, cleanup supplies, cell phone charging and information about Red Cross and partner agency recovery services. Free tetanus shots are available Monday from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief is offering chainsaw work, prepping meals and assisting with debris cleanup in Idabel. The McCurtain County Emergency Management requests that residents push debris to the curb instead of hauling it. They hope to have a DEQ dump site approved as soon as Monday, according to the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office.
Idabel Baptist Church on S. Central will send a crew to tarp registrants’ roofs for free. Hilltop Hardware and Lumber also provides 1/2″ plywood to the areas hit in Idabel.
Texas
The Texas Division of Emergency Management is conducting iSTAT damage surveys in English and Spanish.
NWS survey teams found at least 10 single-family and manufactured homes destroyed in Clarksville. The Double R Cowboy Church in Clarksville is providing food, drinks and facilities for those in need.
The damage survey team could not reach the areas in Titus County on Saturday where they needed to confirm the path of damage through the site, but the damage picked up on the other side west of Daingerfield in Cass County. One person in the area died when the storm destroyed a sing-wide manufactured home.
Residents in Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Rains, Red River and Titus Counties can contact the regional Red Cross office in Texarkana at (903) 793-5602.
Morris County Judge Dough Reeder said in a Facebook post Monday that volunteer fire departments across the area are in need of funds and supplies. These include The Cason, Daingerfield, Lone Star, Naples, Omaha, and Rocky Branch Volunteer Fire Departments.
In Hughes Springs, the volunteer fire department was completely destroyed. KETK reports the building lost its roof and you can see completely through the structure. Fire Chief Jay Cates says it’s a total loss. The 1st Assembly of God on CR 2980 is organizing tornado relief efforts in the area.
Paris was also hit particularly hard. The Lamar Point Baptist Church is accepting donations for tornado victims in the area. Donations will be used for residents in Lamar Point and Caviness who lost their homes and those whose phones suffered damage in the storm.
Some of the GoFundMe for those with destroyed homes are below. These are verified by GoFundMe but are not independently verified by KTAL/KMSS. Donations to private fundraisers are at your own risk.
- Two homes in Brookston, TX
- One home in Clarksville, TX
- One home in Red River County, TX
- One home in Simms, TX
- One home in Idabel, OK
- One home in Idabel, OK
- One home in Eagletown, OK
- Home and barns in Idabel, OK
GoFundMe launched a centralized hub for all fundraisers they verify related to these tornadoes and storms.
If you know of a local organization helping storm victims you can submit it here.