Samaritan's Purse volunteers have been hard at work in multiple locations in Florida after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Diane Pangburn had lived under a roof of blue tarp and damaged shingles since Hurricane Ian tore across her Florida community in 2022. When Hurricane Milton roared ashore in early October, it shredded that covering and torrential rain was channeled into her home.
Diane was blessed by volunteers serving at her home in Jesus’ Name.
Milton, following so closely after Hurricane Helene, left many areas underwater. Bewildered that her Charlotte County home—not located in a flood plain—was now sopping wet, Diane wasn’t sure where to start to clean up the mess.
“I was in a daze. I’m still in a daze,” she said. “But the volunteers are wonderful.”
Our team tarped her roof, which was ripped up allowing water in after multiple hurricanes.
Nearby family members helped her remove furniture and other belongings, and Samaritan’s Purse volunteers, who started serving in the area in mid-October, replaced tattered tarp and damaged shingles with a new Samaritan’s Purse tarp to keep the elements out as she figures out what to do next with her flooded home.
Ongoing Hurricane Relief in the Sunshine State and Beyond
We have been working in the storm-weary Sunshine State since September when Hurricane Helene struck the region as a Category 4 storm. Our teams are at work in the Perry, Tampa/St. Petersburg, and Port Charlotte communities of Florida, cleaning out flooded homes, cutting up fallen trees, and patching damaged roofs.
We also worked on Nadine Henry’s flooded home, one of hundreds of homes in Florida damaged by back-to-back hurricanes this fall.
Derek Miles traveled from Georgia to serve with Samaritan’s Purse and was one of the volunteers up on Diane’s roof this week making sure she had a dry place to live.
“If you want to serve God and help others this is the avenue for me. I don’t see anything better than this. I’ve done five or six deployments and all of them have been so rewarding. Even though you’re blessing other people it’s always blessed me so much,” Derek said. “It’s the best resource to help people get back on their feet and give them the love of God. I don’t see how you could do it any better.”
Pieces of wall and flooring had to be removed because of mold formation after the hurricanes dumped water into her home.
More than 800 volunteers have served with us so far at our Florida sites in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton. We’ve completed work on more than 150 homes since September.
“The road out there was like a river,” said homeowner Nadine Henry, describing the torrent of water dropped by Hurricane Helene. She watched her home flood in slow motion as the rain and storm surge crept up and seeped in through her doors, blanketing every square inch of floor space with a shin-high layer of water.
During Hurricane Milton, she and her family evacuated their flooded home and left for Kissimmee, in the central part of the state.
When our volunteers arrived at her home, they quickly got to work removing the flooring and portions of ruined and molding drywall. At the end of the day, the team prayed with Nadine and provided her with a special Billy Graham Study Bible signed by all the team members who worked on her home.
Nadine was reminded of God’s goodness and His love for her after volunteers and chaplains helped her in Jesus’ Name.
“God is so good. I am so grateful,” she told the team. “A friend of mine from church told me ‘Before you spend all that money [for cleanup], you should contact Samaritan’s Purse. They are working here.’ I am so glad I called you. We’ve been living in a hotel because there was already mold growing, but now we can move back home and get on with getting back to normal life.”
Nadine said her faith was strengthened by our work and in conversations with volunteers and Billy Graham chaplains.
“I know that God is there for me,” she said. “Every morning I wake up and say, thank you, God. I’m still alive. It’s awesome. To know that there’s people out there that care and give their time for free and say let’s come together and help in times of disaster. I truly appreciate it. I truly appreciate that.”
As Samaritan’s Purse helps Floridians get back on their feet, our volunteers and Disaster Assistance Response Team continue to serve the people of western North Carolina who experienced catastrophic flooding in the area’s many remote mountain communities. We also continue to serve areas of Georgia and Louisiana (Hurricane Francine).
Please pray for so many hurting homeowners from Florida and throughout the Southeast as they face a long journey of recovery.
