Helping Hurricane Helene Victims, Ready to Respond to Florida After Milton

Dear Friend,

Hurricane Helene will go down in history as one of the deadliest storms ever to hit the United States mainland. Two weeks later, Hurricane Milton reached Category 5. As I write this, Milton is threatening the West Coast of Florida—already battered by Helene—and forcing widespread evacuations.

Helene cut a 800 kilometre swath from Florida to Tennessee and poured out its wrath on the Appalachian mountains where I live. Thousands were trapped in a sea of mud, unable to escape because of washed out roads and bridges and completely cut off from contact with the outside world. More than 230 lives were lost.

Because Helene was so vast and catastrophic, Samaritan’s Purse responded on an unprecedented scale. We deployed six Disaster Relief Units, three toward the Gulf Coast—working in Tampa and Perry, Florida., and Valdosta, Ga.—and three more in the North Carolina mountains—Boone, Asheville, and Burnsville. The Boone base is also serving our neighbours in Tennessee. Our base in Tampa will continue to help storm victims in the wake of Milton.

Because so many roads were washed out, Samaritan’s Purse coordinated a fleet of 10 helicopters (including Army Chinooks, Blackhawks, and NASCAR team choppers) to airlift food, water, medical supplies, and hundreds of generators to those who were stranded. We set up emergency medical facilities, installed dozens of Starlink satellite devices to restore communications, and operated water filters in towns where municipal water systems were wiped out.

Experts say the Southeast was deluged by 151 trillion litres of rain. Landslides crashed into homes, houses were washed off their foundations, and people were stranded on rooftops. Some watched helplessly as loved ones drowned.

North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx grew up in the mountains near Boone and described Helene as “a catastrophe of Biblical proportions. We need the people of the Bible from this area to respond—and they are responding. I’m so grateful to Samaritan’s Purse for the volunteers who’ve come here.”

The churning floods killed scores in Asheville and also ruined towns like Black Mountain, where I grew up, and Swannanoa, where I went to high school. The Swannanoa and French Broad rivers looked as wide and muddy as the Mississippi.

FLOODS’ TOLL: Volunteers work to remove soggy debris to get houses ready for repairs. Floodwaters turned picturesque mountain streams into raging torrents that washed out roads and bridges and left many communities cut off from help.

In Asheville, Jerry Owensby woke up during the night as the storm intensified. He and his wife, Kelly, moved to the living room just before a tree crashed into their bedroom. They rushed their son and their dogs into their truck and sped off to the local fire department, arriving just before their neighbourhood was cut off by falling trees. Then the fire station flooded, forcing them to make a frantic move by fire truck to a church on higher ground.

They were relieved when dozens of Samaritan’s Purse volunteers arrived to clean mud out of their home and remove the trees.

“You guys have done an amazing job taking care of this neighbourhood,” Kelly said. “We can rebuild with God’s grace.”

“We’re crying because love showed up”

Near Boone, not far from our headquarters, several neighbours were trapped by a landslide and rising waters. Among those neighbours were members of our team who helped rescue the group, including a 10-day-old newborn and other children. “We were able to hold them over our heads and pass all the children to our vehicles so we could evacuate,” Jordan Roten said. “As we were driving out, we saw trees coming down, and we were praying we could get through and get up to safety.”

Jordan’s mother-in-law broke down in tears when she saw volunteers arriving to clean out her home. “I’ve never experienced God’s love like that,” she said. Jordan added: “We’re not crying because of what we lost. We’re crying because love showed up.”

“Orange is my new favourite colour”

Dozens of orange-shirted volunteers in Boone helped clean out the flooded home of Delmus and Diane Williams. They had survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and thought they would be safe from Helene, until their creek rose suddenly and water started pouring through their walls. Their 10-year-old granddaughter was terrified, until they were rescued by an emergency worker in a canoe.

SERVING IN GEORGIA: President Donald Trump and I surveyed hurricane damage in Valdosta, Ga. He praised our volunteers: “We’ve seen you at many different sites over the years, and you do a fantastic job!”

Now, the Williams face the prospect of rebuilding the home where they have lived for 40 years. When Delmus first saw tons of mud inside, he thought to himself, “There’s no way we could get this done.” Then he called Samaritan’s Purse, and our volunteers cleaned out the mud and soggy debris, and sanitized the house so it can be restored. “Orange is my new favorite colour,” Diane said.

The Williams were so inspired that they have decided to become Samaritan’s Purse volunteers after Delmus retires. Izzy, their granddaughter, helped pack emergency kits for our community. “I made a family smile today,” she said.

It will take a long time for these places to recover, and Samaritan’s Purse is doing all we can to get them back on their feet. Please lift up these families and communities in prayer. Thank you for your prayers and generous support for Samaritan’s Purse. May God bless you.

May God bless you.

Franklin Graham
President, Samaritan’s Purse