Hurricane Isaias and its 105 miles-per-hour wind made landfall near Destin, Florida last Friday evening at about 8:30, leaving at least four dead, widespread damage to homes and businesses and, as of Saturday, about 670,000 without power.
Steve Tybor, president of Eight Days of Hope (EDOH), tells American Family Radio's (AFR) “Today’s Issues” that volunteers and equipment were on hand in Florida the next day on Saturday.
“Our mass feeding arm deployed first. Yesterday, 1,800 hot meals were delivered on a moment’s notice at a church called the Destiny Worship Center,” Tybor states.
The Mass Feeding Arm will be there for a week or more.
“We're going to feed people until the power comes back on. There's still hundreds of thousands of people without power. It could be five, seven, even 10 days,” Tybor says.
Next up will be EDOH’s Rapid Response team.
“That's the team that does the chainsaw work, tarps, roofs, brings in heavy equipment,” Tybor explains. “We have shower trailers and laundry trailers for those who maybe the washer and dryer was damaged or they don’t have the means to get a hot meal and to get a hot shower and to do laundry.”
Samaritan’s Purse and the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief are working the storm as well. Samaritan’s Purse has volunteer teams in both Florida and Alabama, both started working on Monday. Meanwhile, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief has served 2,000 meals in Pensacola.
Tybor says EDOH can use just about anyone.
“Any skill set is needed. Maybe you know how to operate a chainsaw. Maybe you’re like me, and no one will ever give you a chainsaw because you’re too hyper, right?” Tybor says. “But can you pull a limb that's been cut down to the curb? Can you make a hot sandwich? Can you help somebody sort through the debris of their house that got damaged?”
Find more information at eightdaysofhope.com.
