Samaritan’s Purse deployed staff, equipment, and an army of volunteers to heavily damaged areas of southwest Florida immediately after Hurricane Ian slammed ashore as a Category 4 storm in late September. Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed by powerful wind, storm surge, and rain. It was among the most powerful storms ever to strike…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Responding in Charlotte County After Hurricane Milton’s Rumble Through Florida
Milton unleashed torrential rain and ferocious winds across Florida after making landfall Wednesday evening, Oct. 9, near Siesta Key, south of Sarasota. The deadly and powerful storm, which entered the state as a Category 3 hurricane and left as a Category 1 on Thursday morning, spawned tornadoes and caused severe flooding. The Tampa area, spared…
Edward Graham Travels to Hurricane-Devastated Florida Communities
Edward Graham visited southwest Florida Tuesday where Samaritan’s Purse volunteers are working in flooded and wind-damaged communities ripped apart last week by Hurricane Ian. The powerful and deadly Category 4 storm claimed more than 100 lives and damaged thousands of structures, including hundreds of homes, on its destructive path traveling up the coast and across…
Franklin Graham in Florida to Encourage Homeowners and Volunteers
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham traveled to Lee County, Florida, on Thursday, Oct. 6, where Hurricane Ian took dead aim last week and pummeled the Fort Myers area as a Category 4 storm. More than 100 people were killed, and at least hundreds of homes were either ripped apart or flooded. One resident described it…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Bringing Relief After Typhoon Rips the Philippines
A Samaritan’s Purse team in the Philippines is distributing emergency food packs and hygiene kits to families in need after Super Typhoon Mangkhut slammed into the Philippine island of Luzon on Sept. 15, the same weekend that Hurricane Florence hit the U.S. Carolina coast. The typhoon made landfall with winds up to 165 mph (equivalent…
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Press Release Western North Carolina Communities Rally to Give Back Through Samaritan’s Purse Project, Operation Christmas Child
Western North Carolina Communities Rally to Give Back Through Samaritan's Purse Project, Operation Christmas Child Hurricane Helene-Devastated Churches and Families Share the Joy of Christmas with Kids in Need Worldwide Boone, NC. Nov. 19, 2024—Every Christmas season, hundreds of thousands of Americans pack gift-filled shoeboxes for children in need around the world. Samaritan's Purse delivers…
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Press Release: Samaritan’s Purse Airlifts Relief Supplies and Disaster Response Team to Hard-Hit Jamaica
Samaritan’s Purse Airlifts Relief Supplies and Disaster Response Team to Hard-Hit Jamaica BOONE, N.C., Oct. 30, 2025—Less than 48 hours after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm, Samaritan’s Purse deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) along with more than 38,000 pounds of life-saving relief supplies to the island nation.…
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Fact Sheet: Emergency Field Hospital
Emergency Field Hospital Overview The Emergency Field Hospital is mobile and ready to deploy at a moment's notice to provide emergency medical relief in disaster-stricken areas where medical infrastructure is damaged, overwhelmed, or nonexistent. Since its inaugural deployment to Ecuador in 2016, Samaritan's Purse has cared for tens of thousands of patients at 27 Emergency…
Firefighter Receives Camper from Samaritan’s Purse
Howard and Lisa Ray’s mobile home was torn from its fastenings as several inches of water turned into a raging torrent in a matter of minutes, when Hurricane Helene swept through their Yancey County property in late September. Everything went by in a flash. Their home was bobbing through newly-formed rapids, and they surged forward…
Crisis & Disaster Response
College Students Volunteer, Help Florida Widow
When Thelma Reynolds, 87, returned to her home after Hurricane Ian ripped through her North Port, Florida, neighborhood, she was shocked by what she discovered—her house was in shambles. “We were on what they call the ‘dirty side’ of the storm, which rotated counterclockwise, and it just sat here for several hours,” she said. “It…
