Hurricane Ian Response

Her husband had died just before Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida Sept. 28. As her first Thanksgiving without him approached, Marilyn* felt “so alone.” She welcomed the prayers of Florida Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers and gladly accepted the Thanksgiving meal they offered her.

Even as Florida Baptist Disaster Relief leaders and volunteers are beginning to taper down their Hurricane Ian response efforts, they are closely monitoring Tropical Storm Nicole, which may intensify into a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall late Wednesday night, Nov. 9, or early Thursday morning, Nov. 10, on Florida’s East Coast.

As Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) nears 500,000 meals prepared in the wake of Hurricane Ian, volunteers have completed approximately 730 recovery jobs for homeowners. 

Devastation as far as the eye could see.

Hurricane Ian, roaring through western Cuba Sept. 28, left a trail of destruction for a people who have long known hardship and scarcity, a people who have learned to live humbly and faithfully even in difficult circumstances.

When Craig Culbreth checked in with pastors of Florida Baptist churches in the Daytona Beach area after Tropical Storm Ian passed through, he began to hear a common thread of widespread flooding that caused damage to homes and churches.

Any time a major storm system threatens the continental United States, the antennae of thousands of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) leaders and volunteers go up. They prepare a response that has required year-round preparation and readiness.

Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis (in red jacket) visited Murdock Baptist Church in Port Charlotte Oct. 3 to thank Florida Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers for their efforts in ministering to Hurricane Ian victims.