Zion Lutheran Church
and
Hurricane Ivan
May 3, 2004 ~ At Zion, the large oak tree near the front of the church had been dropping limbs on the church roof for years. The Church Council asked Pete Midgarden to have Riviera Utilities look at trimming or removing it. Riviera Utilities removed the oak, perhaps preventing future damage to the sanctuary or bell tower. Click here to see more pictures of the tree removal.
September 11, 2004 (Saturday) ~ Hurricane Ivan, which had escalated to Category 5, was slowly going through the Caribbean, wreaking devastation. Early projections suggest it may hit the Gulf Coast. Florida had already had two major evacuations related to hurricanes.
September 12, 2004 (Sunday) ~ The anniversary of Hurricane Frederick making land fall west of Baldwin County in 1979.
At Zion, a normal Sunday worship took place with talks of the next Saturday's Heritage Day Festival. Plans were made to open Zion's Museum
to the public for the weekend festival. Plans were also underway for a Missionary couple from Brazil to travel to Silverhill for the next Sunday service. Members talked among themselves about the far off yet impending hurricane about to enter the southern Gulf of Mexico. The immediate coastal flood plain at Gulf Shores was ordered to evacuate.
September 13, 2004 (Monday) ~ At Zion, the Silverhill sidewalk project continued as workers framed edges and poured cement running past the west side of the church. Before the cement was set, light rain began falling delaying the textured brushing as workers rushed to cover the cement with plastic.
Estimates placed the eye of Hurricane Ivan hitting within 50 miles of Gulf Shores. Alabama Govenor Bob Riley declared a state of emergency and ordered a voluntary evacuation for those in coastal areas. Some members of Zion considered going north to escape the hurricane. Those that planned to stay rushed to stores to buy batteries, non-perishable foods, and other supplies.
September 14, 2004 (Tuesday) ~ At Zion, the Men's 710 met early in the morning with few men attending. Sidewalk workers uncovered the sidewalk and tried to brush a texture into the nearly set concrete. The edges would remain framed in wood for several more weeks (until October 11, 2004) making it impossible for Zion's congregation to use their normal parking area.
Hurricane Ivan was predicted to come ashore a strong Category 3 hurricane. Governor Riley came to Robertsdale to visit the Baldwin County Emergency Response Office. He also flew over areas of Mobile and Baldwin counties to see who would most be affected by the storm. In the early morning he ordered a mandatory evacuation for Baldwin County below Highway 98, essentially mid-Foley and south causing more members of Zion to consider leaving. In the afternoon he ordered a mandatory evacuation for all areas south of Interstate 10, but the public was not fully notified until the next morning. Travel on Interstate 10 going west out of Mobile was reportedly moving at a couple miles per hour at times, as almost 2 million people moved out of Ivan's way on the Gulf. Those that planned to stay prepared their homes for the storm. Lose items were moved indoors or tied down. Bathtubs and containers were filled with water. Few people in Silverhill covered their windows.
September 15, 2004 (Wednesday) ~
After the mandatory evacution for Interstate 10 and southward was announced, Interstate 65 was altered so all lanes traveled north to Montgomery. Reports placed the eye of the hurricane coming ashore at the Mississippi and Alabama state line.
At Zion, Pete Midgarden, Church Council President, turned off the church's electricity and natural gas supply, and secured outside items. He planned to ride out the storm in his home's basement with his wife Aleda. Wednesday night Bible Study was cancelled. Some of the membership of Zion had left their homes to go north and west of Hurricane Ivan's projected path.
Those that stayed in Silverhill had their electricity shut off at 5:30pm by Riviera Utilities to prevent extra damage, even though the winds were not yet very strong. By 8:00pm, the rain was steadily coming down on Silverhill and gusts of wind became stronger. By 10:00pm, the wind came in much stronger blasts as Silverhill's remaining residents prepared to sleep in the safest rooms of their homes.
September 16, 2004 (Thursday) ~ For those that had stopped listening to the radio, they had no way of knowing the hurricane had changed course and turned toward Baldwin County. The eye of Hurricane Ivan came ashore just after 2:00am west of Gulf Shores, missing Mobile on the west. Coastal cities were heavily damaged from New Orleans all the way to Destin and beyond, especially to the east of Gulf Shores. The Pensacola area was heavily damaged by the northeast section of the eye's circulation. The eye of the hurricane proceeded north through the center of Baldwin County, slightly west but parallel to Highway 59. As the strongest winds, just on the northern edge of the eye, blew across Silverhill from east to west, they no longer sounded like gusts, but just one constant pushing force of energy. At that time, some in Silverhill felt their ears popping as the air pressure plummeted. Great unseen noises in the darkness were occurring outside in all directions. For those who had trees falling on their homes, the noises came from above as well. There was no lightning or thunder.
As the eye of the hurricane moved over Silverhill and Zion Lutheran Church, the strong wind and sounds stopped. Only an occasional light wind gust could be heard in the black night. After a short time, the southern edge of the eye crept over Silverhill and the wind direction changed, roaring through the town from west to east with the same intensity as before, yet lasting a shorter amount of time as the hurricane picked up speed traveling north. In all, the Silverhill area had received over 10 inches of rain.
The thickness of the clouds made the sunrise seem much later than normal, but by mid-morning everyone was out surveying the storm damage even though the winds would continue to gust until noon. An alien landscape appeared before the town's people. The trees that were still standing were nearly stripped of their leaves. Some trees were broken at their trunks; others were completely uprooted onto their sides with massive pieces of earth clinging to their roots towering into the air. Everywhere on the ground were millions of wet shredded pieces of leaves and layers of branches. The day would remain cloudy but mostly rain free.
At Zion, the sanctuary and steeple were intact, thanks to God's providence in having a church Council with management skills and the fore-sight to remove the old oak tree. The homes of two church members were heavily damaged, one in Silverhill and one in Robertsdale. However, there was no loss of human life in our area. In Silverhill, clean-up efforts began immediately. The citizens and town employees began moving branches and trees so that emergency relief crews could reach the larger downed trees by the next morning.
September 17, 2004 (Friday) ~ At Zion, the Brazilian Missionaries were advised not to travel to Silverhill for the Sunday service. Damage assessment continued. Many roads were not completely open to travel. Electrical lines were down all over. Most people had no power. The homes closest to Zion Lutheran Church would be without electricity for one full week. Chainsaws and other power equipment began opening more roads and streets. Gasoline lines were very long at any station that had electricity to pump gas. The skys were clear and rain free and would remain so for many more days (until October 9, 2004), helping the clean-up efforts.
Governor Riley came once again to Robertsdale to visit the Baldwin County Emergency Response Office. He flew over the hurricane damaged areas and visited the devastation at Gulf Shores.
September 18, 2004 (Saturday) ~ At Zion, huge oak logs were piled on the church lawn to make room for equipment moving on the streets. The residents who had fled the storm made their return trip back into the area. They were met with the loud and continual sounds of chainsaws and generators in use as temporary power. There was a massive inflow of help.
Silverhill's 22nd Annual Heritage Day Festival was cancelled.
September 19, 2004 (Sunday) ~ At Zion, even without electricity, the Worship service took place with about half of its typical attendance. The visit of the Missionaries to Brazil was postponed. Pastor Hunter's wife, Stephanie, from Silverhill First Baptist invited the Zion congregation and the Silverhill community to its fellowship hall for a free Chicken dinner.
President George W. Bush, along with his brother, Florida Govenor Jeb Bush, and Alabama Govenor Bob Riley, flew over the hurricane damaged areas and visited the devastation at Gulf Shores.
September 20, 2004 (Monday) ~ Insurance companies were very busy taking claims. FEMA, Red Cross, Salvation Army, the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Team, and other emergency relief organizations were busy providing ice, bottled water, and food to the many desperate peoples without electricity or roofs over their heads. About half of the homes and businesses had electrical service restored. Life was slowly returning to normal. Some people were back at work. Gasoline lines were more normal. The public schools would remain closed for an additional week until repairs could be completed.
Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, also flew over the hurricane damaged areas and visited Gulf Shores giving words of encouragement.
At Zion, Pastor Dave received a phone call from the AFLC church in Lewisville, TX, advising that Zion would receive its mission offering for the month to help in any way deemed appropriate. Official state storm estimates placed the areas' damage on a par or worse than 1979's Hurricane Frederick. Arial surveillance indicated that the heaviest damage in Baldwin County began at Silverhill and continued east and south.
Our Heavenly Father heard our prayers and was very kind in preserving life and limb. Our members are very
thankful for God's faithfulness.
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