HELENE LEAVES TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION, MILTON POISED TO STRIKE FLORIDA

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 500-mile 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, Fla., and Valdosta, Ga.—and three more in the North Carolina mountains—Boone, Asheville, and Burnsville. The Boone base is also serving our neighbors in Tennessee. Our base in Tampa will continue to help storm victims in the wake of Milton. …

Sincerely,