A minimum of 100,000 meals a day will be produced by SBDR volunteers scattered across at least seven locations beginning Oct. 3. More kitchen units will be deployed if there is a need for more meals. Chainsaw and flood recovery teams stand ready to respond to upcoming work requests.
Supplies and volunteers will continue to be sent into the area as needed over the coming months, the spokesman said.
Thursday (Sept. 29), a semi-truck filled with bottled water, temporary roofing, Shockwave mold cleaner and other emergency supplies was dispatched to the affected area. A Send Relief rescue boat is also being deployed for the first time today for search and rescue missions.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis categorized the storm and resulting floodwaters as “basically a 500-year event.”
Matthew Robinson, executive pastor of ministries and administration at First Baptist Church in Orlando, told Baptist Press Thursday morning that the previous evening had been eventful. A “wicked night” included high winds, power outages and widespread flooding in streets.
“Thankfully, the worst has passed,” he said.
Early in the week First Baptist leadership coordinated a response that not only addressed preparation before Ian’s arrival and the aftermath, but also how prayer can be a continual presence.
“On Wednesday, we asked all in our church family to set an alarm at 4:07 p.m. to join us, from wherever they were, as we paused to ask God for His protection and safety for our state and city,” Robinson said.
407 is the main area code for the Orlando area.
“All on-campus activity was paused from Wednesday through Friday,” he said. “While we hope to safely gather this weekend, we will assess any damage at our campuses on Friday and determine the next steps.”
In the meantime, Robinson added, First Baptist’s campus is serving additional purposes including as a shelter for the local court system, staging area for the National Guard, Red Cross special needs shelter and debris processing site for the city’s municipalities.
“We have also mobilized our Care Ministry that has helped our widows and home-bound or mobility-challenged members with preparation,” he said. Other systems in place will assess damage needs and notify teams to respond.
This article originally appeared here.
