MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers have been on site since Oct. 3 at First Baptist Church in Wauchula, Fla., providing chain saw and flood recovery teams to those affected by Hurricane Ian.
Hurricane Ian swept across Florida Sept. 29, wreaking havoc across the state.
As of Oct. 6, reports indicated nearly 100 people have died. USA Today reported more than 2.6 million homes and businesses were without electricity when the hurricane first hit land.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said the storm caused a “500-year flooding event in the state” and that the damage caused is “historic,” USA Today reported.
Ian also caused extensive damage along the coasts of South Carolina and North Carolina on Sept. 30.
Tennessee Baptist DR is working with DR volunteers from Kentucky.
Kentucky DR is coordinating feeding efforts while Tennessee DR is manning the Incident Command and overseeing chain saw teams, flood recovery and has laundry/shower units on site. Tennessee volunteers are also assisting on the feeding unit. As of Oct. 6, the feeding unit was providing 4,000 meals daily.
Jones said about 60 Tennessee volunteers were on site by midweek and more are expected to arrive by the weekend and into next week. Kentucky Baptists also had about 60 people on site, Jones said.
Wauchula is inland from where the most damage occurred, Jones related. The town is about 70 miles south of Orlando but the area received extensive damage from flooding and a lot of tree damage from hurricane force winds. Jones said many of the trees that fell were large oak trees.
Currently, Tennessee DR has 94 requests for recovery jobs and that number is expected to increase daily, Jones said. “We will need chain saw and flood recovery teams for at least the next two weeks,” he said.
“We are grateful for the volunteers who have already come and for those who have made plans to come next week. They are already making a difference in the lives of those impacted by the hurricane and will continue to do so in the days ahead,” he said.
Jones said much of the area impacted near Wauchula has orange groves. Many citrus farmers lost their crops, he said. Many of the affected residents include Hispanic-speaking people who worked in the orchards. “Pray that language will not be a barrier,” he said.
Jones also asked Tennessee Baptists to pray that God will open up doors for volunteers to model the love of Jesus and to share the gospel with the people affected by Hurricane Ian.
“The work we do is important and it impacts lives, but the greatest impact we will have is to be able to tell others about Jesus Christ.”
Teams interested in going should contact Jones at wjones@tnbaptist.org; Elizabeth Holmes at eholmes@tnbaptist.org; and drelief@tnbaptist.org.
Jones asked teams to send an e-mail to all three e-mail addresses.
Individuals interested in donating to disaster relief can visit tndisasterrelief.org/contributions and click on 2022 hurricanes. B&R