Situation:
On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm and carved a devastating path from Florida’s Gulf Coast to Tennessee.
Since then, the massive surge has resulted in power outages for millions of individuals across several states, several thousands of which are still without power. Thousands of homes have sustained major structural damage or been destroyed, and so far there have been 191 confirmed fatalities. Search and rescue is still underway in many locations, and FEMA has approved support for individual households in Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Extensive flooding from Helene has severely impacted western North Carolina and multiple communities in several states, hampering the delivery of critical supplies.
CWS Response:
CWS’ Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery team is monitoring the situation and, since the initial days of the storm, has been actively participating in National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and FEMA calls as well as statewide VOAD calls in FL, NC, GA and SC to stay informed on the impacts of the storm.
Before Helene made landfall, the CWS team conducted outreach to especially vulnerable and overlooked communities to help them prepare for evacuation and extended power outages. As part of our initial emergency response, CWS is distributing 3,296 Emergency Cleanup Buckets and 4,360 Hygiene Kits (a total supply value of more than $312,000) to partners in Florida. We have been in contact with groups in North Carolina and will likely be shipping kits to Western NC in the coming days. CWS is also connecting impacted families with temporary housing support.
CWS also works with affected communities long after the initial disaster response phase to identify unmet needs and gaps where our support and efforts are most impactful. We will be involved in long-term recovery efforts to help meet these needs in the months and years to come.
Your contributions ensure that we can provide critical and life-saving resources to our neighbors when it’s most needed and sustain that support long after the news has left headlines.
How to Help
To support CWS emergency response efforts, donations can be made online or sent to Church World Service (P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515).