Samaritan’s Purse volunteers started work over the weekend in south-central Louisiana in communities damaged by Hurricane Francine. The Category 2 storm made landfall on Wednesday, Sept. 11. Sustained 100-mph winds and dangerous storm surge damaged homes, toppled trees, and flooded neighborhoods. Teams are helping clean up trees and debris, tarp damaged roofs, and clean mud…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Work Continues as the Bahamas Recover from Hurricane Dorian
More than 20 feet of seawater flooded the home of Bishop Bert Livingstone Williams, Jr. in September 2019. His son and daughter-in-law ran to the second floor of the house to escape the influx of water, only to be sucked out of the upstairs window into the storm surge. His daughter-in-law can’t swim, so his…
Crisis & Disaster Response
In the Wake of Hurricane Laura, Veterans Become an Answer to Prayer
As Hurricane Laura’s 150 mile-per-hour winds threatened to batter the coastline of Louisiana, Rafe David and his wife Mary were prepared to stay in their Lake Charles home of 25 years. The couple had evacuated for major storms like Rita and Ike over the years only to return home to minor damage. They expected the…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Three Bases Up, Volunteers Working in Louisiana After Hurricane Ida
Deadly Hurricane Ida brutalized southeastern Louisiana Aug. 29-30, knocking out power for more than 1 million people, including the entire city of New Orleans. Fierce winds caused extensive damage while heavy rains and storm surge brought severe flooding. Samaritan’s Purse has rushed to help people in need. Staff members and three Disaster Relief Units—tractor trailers…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Franklin Graham Travels to Emergency Field Hospital in the Bahamas
Franklin Graham came to Grand Bahama on Monday, Sept. 16, to oversee Samaritan’s Purse medical relief efforts on the island nation ravaged by Hurricane Dorian in early September. Graham visited with patients at our Emergency Field Hospital, including Kristna Thompson, a man suffering from congestive heart failure, and Glen Bartlett, who is ill with a…
It’s Good to Be Back Home Again
Ever since Hurricane Harvey hit southeast Texas in 2017, Francisca Castañeda has wondered where to call home. The house she’d lived in for 12 years in La Grange, west of Houston, was condemned shortly after the storm, which dumped more than 60 inches of rain on some areas of the Lone Star State. “There was…
Two Marias, One Almighty God
Separated by only 15 miles in the mountains of North Carolina, Maria Sixtos and Maria Chavez have both suffered in Helene’s wake—not only when the historic hurricane hit the area six months ago, but every moment since. For Maria Chavez, a stay-at-home mom, the storm’s damage to the family’s septic system created a daily nightmare…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Helping Caribbean Farmers Get Back to Work
When Hurricane Maria thrashed Dominica last year, its ferocious winds damaged 90 percent of the houses on the island. Thousands were completely destroyed. But the storm—the first Category 5 hurricane on record to strike the Caribbean island—didn’t just obliterate houses. It also ravaged entire industries, upending people’s ability to make a living and provide for…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Volunteers Help Hard-Hit Military Families in North Carolina
SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER FOR OUR HURRICANE RESPONSES When Jeremy and Kristy Kulberg saw on social media that people in their flooded New Bern, North Carolina, neighborhood were being rescued from rooftops, their hearts sank. That could only mean that their own house was under at least five feet of water. Jeremy and Kristy had…
