Volunteers with the North Carolina Baptist Men are still waiting for the go ahead to provide aid to the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Gaylon Moss, disaster relief coordinator for the NCBM, said that one four-man search and rescue team left Thursday with a boat, but the water levels are keeping the rest of the teams from getting to the area.
“We want to serve people in Jesus’ name and be a light in the darkness,” Moss said.
The aid will be in the form of food, child care, laundry services, showers, toiletries, damage assessors and chaplains. The group will also deliver heavy equipment such as excavators, refrigeration units and tools for fixing housing.
The death toll has climbed to 38, according to the New York Times, though it appears the worst of the storm is over. The waters have begun to recede and the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression on Wednesday night.
Jerry Barbee, disaster relief coordinator for Baptists on Mission Region 6, said that as soon as they are able, more than 60 volunteers will mobilize.
“We’ve all been called to do this, we don’t get paid,” Barbee said. “Everything we do is for the glory of God.”
Barbee said that the team in charge of food can cook 30,000 meals a day. The food will be sent in by the Red Cross and prepared by a team of 60 NCBM volunteers.
Dennis Holloway, a leader of one of the NCBM groups tasked with recovery, said that the volunteers are committed to working on helping Texas and the Gulf states recover for many years to come.
“[Hurricane Harvey] is going to make Katrina and Matthew look very small,” Holloway said.
The state of North Carolina is deploying five swift water rescue teams from made up of 92 police and fire department personnel to assist with search and rescue in response to a request from Texas emergency officials.
“North Carolina has developed one of the most respected and tested swift water rescue programs in the country,” Mike Sprayberry, state emergency management director, said in a statement Wednesday. “These are well-trained and experienced rescuers who will serve the state of Texas well.”
Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2674.