The social service agency BCMW will be at Salem City Hall from nine to four on Thursday to help those in need of housing or who have major damage from the weekend flooding.
The help from BCMW follows the closure of the Red Cross shelter Wednesday afternoon at the First Baptist Church in Salem. Red Cross Supervisor Terrance Cook says 20 people came to the shelter to seek assistance, but none of them spent the night. They did have one homeless person stay who was also provided food and given some new clothing. There were 15 cleanup kits given out. Cook says he has passed along information from those seeking help to Red Cross regional headquarters.
Salem Emergency Management Coordinator Andrew Strong reports 134 damage surveys have now been filed with 126 self-reporting. Two reported their homes destroyed, 19 with major damage, 97 with minor damage, and 10 that were affected. Salem and Centralia officials are encouraging anyone with damage to complete the self-report information on links and QR codes available on the Salem and Centralia city websites and on the Salem Emergency Management Facebook page. If you need help, you may come to either Salem or Centralia City Hall. The more damage confirmed, the greater the chance Marion County could receive disaster assistance from the state or federal government.
Salem Public Works Director Travis Sanders says 14 of the 27 mobile homes in the Starlight Mobile Home received damage from the flood while the others stayed dry. He reports natural gas service has been restored to those in undamaged homes. Ameren has also restored power to the mobile home park.
