Samaritan’s Purse Canada has deployed a relief team to lead a response effort in greater Tampa, Florida, where thousands of homes have been flooded and at least 60,000 families have been displaced.
A Canadian team is already on the ground in Florida, and one of our Disaster Relief Unit tractor-trailers and a convoy of other vehicles left Ontario today to bring further support as we extend critical aid to hurting Florida residents.
Our Canadian staff and skilled disaster response volunteers are deploying to support U.S. teams as they answer multiple calls for assistance across the country’s devastated southeast region. In total, Samaritan’s Purse teams will be responding in five locations across Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
In the Big Bend of Florida, where the storm made landfall with 225-kph winds, Samaritan’s Purse has a base established to serve hurting homeowners in and around the city of Perry. Helene hit there late on Sept. 27 at Category 4 strength, making it the strongest storm to hit the area in recorded history.
Despite weakening to a tropical storm, Helene later tore through Georgia and the Carolinas, dumping extreme rainfall and causing flash flooding. Samaritan’s Purse has set up a base in Valdosta, Georgia.
Teams are also responding in the High Country of northwestern North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Boone, North Carolina—home to Samaritan’s Purse international headquarters—and a large swath of surrounding communities have been particularly hard-hit with toppled trees, flash flooding, road damage, and lack of power and water. They are also assisting area hospitals—setting up a two-tent unit to provide oxygen for patients who have no power at home.
Finally, southwest of Boone, rivers also raged outside their banks creating destruction in the Asheville, North Carolina, area. U.S. relief teams will respond there as our fifth Helene site.
Via Facebook, Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham said, “Samaritan’s Purse responds to help with storms and crises around the world every day, but now the storm has hit in our own backyard. Hurricane Helene slammed western North Carolina and the surrounding area, as well as Georgia and Florida. Homes have been flooded and some even washed away, trees are down, tens of thousands are still without power. We would be grateful for your prayers for all those affected by this storm.”
As Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief teams are on the ground in hard-hit spots, we will partner with local churches to soon field volunteer teams who will help hurting homeowners in Jesus’ Name. Volunteers will assist with mudding out homes, cutting down trees, tarping roofs, and removing debris to help families get through this.
The size of Hurricane Helene, one of the biggest Gulf storms documented over the past century, was truly remarkable, with a wind field measuring hundreds of kilometers across—in part explaining the geographic breadth of the damage it caused.
Please pray for all communities along the path of this massive storm as they recover and as we respond to affected areas. Dozens of storm-related deaths have been reported; please keep affected families in your prayers as well.
Help Samaritan's Purse respond quickly to victims of disasters across North America, providing not only physical assistance as people clean up and rebuild after wind, floods, fires, and other disasters, but also emotional and spiritual support in the aftermath of tragedy.