Baptist and Reflector
MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers have been placed on alert status for possible deployment to Florida in response to Hurricane Dorian.
As of Aug. 29, Hurricane Dorian was a Category 1 storm but is on course to be an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm if it makes landfall on the eastern coast of Florida early next week, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Projections have the storm’s latest track approaching the eastern coast of Florida on Sept. 2 and reaching the Orlando area the next day, the Orlando Sentinel reported Aug. 29.
Wes Jones
Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, said volunteers should not expect a call out until at least Sept. 2. “Please look over your units, contact your team members and have them start thinking if and when they can respond,” Jones said.
Jones stressed that the track and power of the storm when it comes ashore will determine the need for response. He said Florida DR leaders have indicated that if volunteers are needed, states will be asked to coordinate response in a specific area.
The Tennessee DR leader noted that some DR units have committed to go to Illinois for flood recovery. “Do not change your plans,” he said. “We need to honor our commitment to assist them.”
Jones asked Tennessee Baptists to pray for those who may be affected by Hurricane Dorian and to be ready to respond if needed.
Anyone interested in donating to disaster relief, can visit www.tndisasterrelief.org/contributions. B&R
