As Hurricane Helene made landfall on Thursday night and continued along its path on Friday, it devastated communities throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. 

As of Friday afternoon, around 1.7 million South Carolinians were without power across the state. Countless communities experienced flooding, wind damage, and power outages. “The damage is widespread and it will take days to fully evaluate the impact of the storm,” Susan Peugh, SCBaptist Disaster Relief Director said.

All South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief (SCDR) units have been placed on alert to respond to the impact of Helene in South Carolina and the surrounding states. Eighteen SCDR teams are already deployed and at work with chainsaw units in efforts to clear roads and debris from homes.

Peugh shared that regional coordinators are working with SCBaptist associational mission strategists, county emergency managers, and local Disaster Relief teams to address the needs that have been reported.

“I am praying with gratitude and anticipation of the deployed yellow shirt army who will come to the relief of communities across our state,” SCBaptist Executive Director-Treasurer Tony Wolfe said. 

SCBaptist Serve Team Leader Jon Jamison emphasized that disasters often allow believers to care for their neighbors. “When our neighbors face disaster and crisis, it is SCBaptists who I want to meet and serve them in that moment,” Jamison said.

Wolfe expressed his gratitude to SCBaptists who are already responding to their neighbors and communities and for their faithful giving to the Cooperative Program, which allows SCDR teams to react in the immediate hours after disaster strikes.

“SCDR teams bring with them the expertise of decades worth of training, deployment, and networking, and they will have in their hands and on their lips the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Wolfe said. “He has the power to transform every temporal disaster into eternal victory.”

Please pray for those in the path of Hurricane Helene, for first responders, for authorities making decisions, and for SCDR leaders and volunteers who will share God’s love as they help people in need.