A young boy gives a thumbs-up, excited to see the meals and bottled water in the backseat of his car following Hurricane Helene’s destructive path in Florida’s Big Bend in late September. Florida Baptists will continue to respond to needs in Hurricane Helene’s aftermath while also launching active response efforts to serve people in need left following Hurricane Milton’s landfall Oct. 9.
SARASOTA — As Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm, made landfall just after 8 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 9, near Siesta Key, Florida Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are now setting up a command center at Sarasota’s Colonial Oaks Baptist Church, which will serve as headquarters for disaster relief leaders to begin assessing damage and prioritizing crisis response, including mass feeding, clean-up and recovery and spiritual care and witness.
The command center will become operational today, aiming to serve its first meal, in coordination with The Salvation Army, tomorrow. Clean-up and recovery teams are slated to begin work on Monday.
Milton is the third hurricane to hit Florida this year. Category 1 Hurricane Debby struck Florida’s Big Bend region on Aug. 5, and Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall in the same region on. Sept. 26. Hurricane Helene, in particular, left behind immense destruction and devastation, with many Florida Baptist churches not being spared Helene’s fury.
Before making landfall, Hurricane Milton spawned multiple tornadoes over a wide swath of Florida, resulting in significant destruction and devastation and accounting for several fatalities. Then, during and after landfall, Milton created intense damaging winds of up to 120 mph, devastating storm surge and torrential downpours of rain. An estimated three million Floridians have been left without power. The hurricane moved quickly across Central Florida and exited as it passed over Florida’s east coast and into the ocean.
First simultaneous relief for more than one hurricane in 20 years
As disaster relief volunteers are making their way to areas hit hard by Hurricane Milton, many other disaster relief volunteers are continuing to respond actively to immense needs that Hurricane Helene left in its wake. In its Hurricane Helene response, FBDR efforts began Sept. 27 and will continue as long as needs dictate.
David Coggins, FBDR director, said that this is the first time in 20 years for disaster relief leaders and volunteers to manage simultaneous hurricane response for back-to-back hurricanes striking the Sunshine State. In 2004, Florida was battered by four hurricanes — Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne — in six weeks, with billions of dollars in damage and lives lost.
In this simultaneous response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, disaster relief leaders at the Colonial Oaks Baptist Church command center are providing administrative support in coordinating relief efforts for both storms. Such simultaneous response, “is a stretch,” said Coggins. “It is challenging us.”
Disaster relief is, and always has been, a team effort, Coggins believes. He expressed thankfulness and appreciation for disaster relief volunteers who are “resilient,” as they “respond and continue to respond.” New volunteers also have “stepped up,” have passed background checks and are joining relief efforts, “grateful to have the opportunity to serve,” he said.
Coggins also voiced gratitude for Florida Baptist churches and associations that are responding in their communities as local residents often encounter overwhelming need and heartache.
Among numerous churches serving their communities, teams at Calvary Church in Clearwater are responding to needs in Milton’s aftermath, while teams at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Inverness will continue to respond to needs in Helene’s aftermath. Several churches on Florida’s east coast also are already serving in their communities as needs are discovered.
In addition to its partnership with The Salvation Army, FBDR is working to coordinate its response to Hurricane Milton with partners from the Florida Department of Emergency Management, Southern Baptists’ Send Relief, American Red Cross and first responders. Send Relief has staged a tractor-trailer with more than 20,000 meals, bottled water, rolled roofing, water and generators in Alpharetta, Georgia, which is slated to deploy soon to the Florida region battered by Hurricane Milton.
Disaster relief teams from other Baptist state conventions, including New Mexico, Arizona, California and the Northwest, have joined FBDR in Hurricane Helene relief efforts, working out of Westwood Baptist Church in Live Oak. Disaster relief teams from other Baptist state conventions, including Kentucky and Georgia, are slated to join FBDR in Hurricane Milton hurricane relief response.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Margaret Colson is a writer for the Florida Baptist Convention. This article originally appeared at flbaptist.org.)
