Report on Eastern Seaboard Storm Damage

Tropical hurricane Agnes stunned several states along the eastern seaboard of the United States with rain and wind, leaving a trail of incredible destruction from Florida to upper New York.

Junior Wright Child, managing director of the Church Welfare Department, was in constant communication with stake and mission presidents in the troubled areas during the danger period to determine the extent of damage to Latter-day Saints and their homes.

“There were no storm deaths reported among Church members,” he said, “but many homes were destroyed and families were evacuated.

“The Church welfare program functioned as planned. Stakes and missions were able to help one another locally, and it was not necessary to send aid from Salt Lake City.”

Declared an “extreme emergency” area by the government, Pennsylvania was particularly hard hit. In a telephone conversation with the Ensign, George M. Baker, president of the Pennsylvania Mission, reported severe damage to the chapel in Harrisburg and the mission home in Camp Hill.

“Mayor Peters of Scranton, Sister Lenore Romney, Sister Baker, and I had an overview from a helicopter flying over flooded communities. Our main concern,” said President Baker, “is, of course, for the families who have lost their homes. In conversations with other Church officials in flooded regions, I can report that these families are all being well provided for in their need for shelter, food, and other necessities.”