When Hurricane Laura roared ashore in southern Louisiana last August, 2020 already felt like a year full of storms for Lake Charles homeowners Rufus and Shirley Goodwin. COVID-19 hit them hard in the spring and hospitalized them both. The symptoms were so severe that they feared for their lives. Then the hurricanes hit. Category 4…
Media
Fact Sheet: Douglas DC-8
DC-8 Samaritan's Purse Aviation Since 1975, Samaritan's Purse has used aircraft to transport doctors and relief workers along with tons of food, medicine, shelter materials, blankets, and other items to aid victims of natural disasters, war, famine, and other emergencies. To support the work of Samaritan's Purse arounsd the world, the aviation arm of Samaritan's…
50 Years of Ministry
U.S. Disaster Relief Begins—and Keeps Growing
Volunteers in orange T-shirts running chainsaws and tarping roofs have become icons of the U.S. Disaster Relief projects of Samaritan’s Purse. Yet it took many years for this aspect of the ministry to develop. The first U.S. Disaster Relief Unit was a converted tractor-trailer that deployed for the first time in 1998 to help victims…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Louisiana Homeowner Grateful for God’s Grace
Cary Castile wasn’t expecting to be displaced for weeks when he evacuated from Louisiana to Texas ahead of Hurricane Laura in August 2020. And, when he did return to his Lake Charles home, he said the widespread devastation broke his heart. “Almost the entire city was damaged. The power lines were down. It was a…
Crisis & Disaster Response
‘God Is Looking After Me’
Some seven months ago, Samaritan’s Purse assisted homeowner Mel Williams and more than 900 other families following destruction from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. Last week, deadly flooding swept through Lake Charles and our teams deployed once again to bring relief to hurting families in Louisiana. “We’ve had a pretty rough couple of months,” Mel explained.…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Team Patriot Volunteers Help a Fellow Veteran in Louisiana
Residents of Lake Charles, Louisiana, a working-class town of nearly 78,000 people, are weather weary. They have seen their city ravaged by two hurricanes, crippled by an ice storm, and inundated by floodwaters—all within the past nine months. First, Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm, roared into Lake Charles in late August. It was the…
Media
Hurricane Idalia Response Press Kit
Media Resources Media Requests Press Releases Fact Sheets Photos B-roll Hurricane Idalia Response Press Kit Samaritan’s Purse is responding in Florida after Hurricane Idalia left behind a path of destruction for families in the Sunshine State. As news of the approaching storm surfaced, the international Christian relief organization pre-positioned two Disaster Relief Units—tractor-trailers packed with…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Volunteer Helped Hurricane Florence Victims in Jesus’ Name
SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER FOR OUR HURRICANE FLORENCE RESPONSE Julio Hernandez was moved with compassion when he heard about how Hurricane Florence devasted the North Carolina coast. “Your heart breaks for people, and you want to do anything you can to help and comfort them,” he said. Julio, who has served in the Army for…
Our Ministry
Samaritan’s Purse Deploys Two Disaster Relief Units in The Wake of Hurricane Michael (Press Release)
Response Includes Disaster Relief Specialists, Volunteers, Tools and Emergency Supplies BOONE, N.C., Oct. 11, 2018—Samaritan’s Purse is on the way to the Florida Panhandle and other hard-hit communities to aid families devastated by Hurricane Michael. This unprecedented storm has destroyed homes, caused widespread flooding and left families in desperate need. The international Christian relief organization…
Animals, Agriculture & Livelihoods
Equipping Farmers on Dominica Long After Hurricane Maria
“After Hurricane Maria, we had no hope,” Norla said. “We were really hurting. We had nothing to plant and nothing to eat.” Norla serves as the village council secretary of Vieille Case, Dominica, by day and farms in the evenings. Many farmers in Dominica will tell you similar stories. After Hurricane Maria destroyed the agricultural…
