By: Samaritan’s Purse International
Samaritan’s Purse is sending tonnes of emergency relief to the Bahamas aboard their DC-8 aircraft. This includes emergency shelter material, household water filters, and two community water filtration units specially designed to turn saltwater into drinking water.
“Samaritan’s Purse has been watching and preparing to respond to Hurricane Dorian. We are loading our DC-8 with supplies that we plan to take down as soon the storm clears, and it’s safe to land,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “Families in the Bahamas are suffering and millions of others are bracing for Dorian’s impact as the storm continues to move. Please join me in praying for everyone affected by this hurricane, and for our teams as we respond in Jesus’ Name.”
Hurricane Dorian made multiple landfalls across the Bahamas on Sept. 1 packing sustained 297 km/h winds, with gusts up to 362 km/h. Devastated locations include the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama.
The hurricane is headed toward the Florida coast, with maximum sustained winds of 241 km/h, a Category 4 storm.
Mandatory evacuations have started in some parts of Florida with similar orders to follow in Georgia and South Carolina.
Before its expected battering of the U.S. coast, Dorian ripped through the Bahamas as perhaps the fiercest storm to ever hit the islands. At its full strength , Dorian was the strongest storm the planet has seen so far this year.
Samaritan’s Purse will send an international relief team to the Bahamas to facilitate the distribution of critically needed items such as desalination units, plastic/tarp, and other items. Please pray for Bahamians in the wake of Dorian.
Labeled an “extremely dangerous” storm by the National Hurricane Center, Dorian is predicted to affect the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas with high winds, rain, and strong storm surge. Samaritan’s Purse is poised to send staff and disaster relief units to communities that will be in need.
Key U.S. disaster relief personnel from their North Carolina offices are pre-positioning closer to Dorian’s potential landfall so that assessments can begin immediately after the storm passes.
Once staff and volunteer teams are given access to damaged areas, they plan to assist with clearing debris and downed trees, tarping roofs, and cleaning out flooded U.S. homes. In addition to disaster relief units (stocked tractor trailers), supply trailers and heavy equipment are also on standby.
Samaritan’s Purse already has been working for almost a year in the Florida Panhandle where residents are recovering from the destruction of Hurricane Michael. Following an initial disaster relief response, their teams continue to help by repairing and rebuilding homes.
Pray for Floridians as they face yet another hurricane. If Dorian hits the Sunshine State at Category-3 strength or higher, it will mark the third year in a row that a major hurricane has made landfall there.
Those in Georgia and the Carolinas also are likely to be impacted, depending on Dorian’s size, strength, and track. Please keep these U.S. cities in your prayers.
This is the fourth consecutive year that a Category 5 hurricane has formed in the Atlantic—a record without precedent.
About the Author: Samaritan’s Purse International responds at a moment’s notice to humanitarian crisis around the world, bringing relief, comfort, physical help and life-saving, emergency aid.