The Rev. Deacon Cathy Halford, a member of the Disaster Preparedness and Response Team, spoke with or texted many of the Coast clergy about Hurricane Zeta's impact.
Most of the damage took place on the west Coast in Harrison and Hancock Counties.
There are numerous power outages throughout MS. Power Outage.Com reported 166,751 outages on Friday, most of which are on the Coast
The Rev. Seth Walley, priest-in-charge of Christ Church/Bay St. Louis, reported damage to new construction at the parish.
According to the Rev. Patrick Sanders, St. Peter's by-the-Sea/Gulfport had some roof damage and water in the parish hall and vesting room.
The locked front doors of St. Pierre's/Gautier blew open during the storm, and water flowed into the narthex. Also, the junior warden found minor roof damage on the parish house, according to The Rev. Dr. John Switzer. The Switzer's home in Ocean Springs flooded on the bottom floor, and several trees were downed on their property and along their street.
The Rev. Mary Koppel, St. Thomas/Diamondhead, said there was no damage to the buildings. There were a lot of tree limbs that littered the property. “My daughter and I cleared the parking lot as best we could [Thursday] afternoon,” Koppel said, noting that the power was still out in the area.
St. John’s/Pascagoula is missing shingles on the roof of the church and at the home of the Rev. Tom Fanning. “The yard is full of debris from the storm surge, and the shed in the back of the rental house lost a wall that blew away,” said Fanning.
Preliminary damage assessment at Trinity/Pass Christian revealed lost shingles and siding from the church, “and the storage building has floated from its former location,” said the Rev. Deacon Rick Devenport.
The Rev. Jane Bearden, interim rector of St. Patrick’s/Long Beach has no power or cell service and drove to Slidell to report damages. I have no power or cell service to provide a report. “St Patrick's is structurally fine from report of Jr Warden, but the sign was damaged. Roads in Long Beach are closed, so I could not get there. Checking with parishioners and most have said they are okay.
St. Mark's/Gulfport has lots of limbs down on the property and some sections of shingle loss, “But we seem to have escaped any significant damage. Power is obviously still out but we are checking on parishioners and doing what we can to help out.”
The Rev. Dr. Charles Hawkins, rector of St. John’s/Ocean Springs, said a tree was split near the outdoor labyrinth, but no structural damage occurred to the church buildings. A group of parishioners helped an elderly member remove a tree which fell near her house.
“Most have said that it could have been a lot worse. As the day continues, we will have a much clearer story of what needs to be done,” Halford said.
Bishop Seage is keeping track of the damage reports and will be responding once assessments are completed.
The Rev. Scott Lenoir is the editor of The Mississippi Episcopalian. The Rev. Deacon Cathy Halford is a member of the diocesan DPRT.
