Florida Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers and local residents are bracing for Hurricane Idalia, which is predicted to strike the state’s gulf coast Wednesday morning and could bring widespread damage. Evacuation orders have been issued for what some are expecting could be a Category 3 hurricane.
Florida Baptist volunteers were on “standby” status as the storm approached, the Florida Baptist Witness reported. Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a state of emergency as the storm intensifies. The state continues to recover from deadly Hurricane Ian, which battered the Florida coast last year making landfall as a Category 4 storm. Ian claimed at least 150 lives and caused reportedly $112 billion in damages, according to the National Hurricane Center.
‘Staged and ready’
David Coggins, FLDR director, said volunteers are “staged and ready” to go when needed to help those impacted by this latest storm.
“But most importantly, our volunteers are ready and prepared to bring hope to those who will be impacted by the storm,” Coggins told the Florida Baptist Witness.
“We are prepared to share the hope of the gospel of our Lord Jesus with those who don’t know Him and help to those whose faith may be challenged,” he noted. “We will see this as we always do, an open door for the gospel to be shared and hope to be offered.”
As the storm approaches, Florida Baptists remain in contact with other partners in relief efforts, including Southern Baptists’ Send Relief, American Red Cross, The Salvation Army and first responders.
