Various hurricanes have made their mark on Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. In 1992, Andrew ushered in a new era and scope of the ministry. Katrina brought on a call for more volunteers during a yearslong recovery effort. Sandy led to widespread work on the upper Atlantic coast.
Ian is projected to be one of the costliest storms in Florida’s history, with estimates ranging from $63-$75 billion in damages. The equipment for digging out and rebuilding homes – and lives – will be crucial.
The addition of skid steers equipped with a grapple attachment have proven invaluable, said Scottie Stice, director of Disaster Relief for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.
“They are a tremendous, valuable tool and save us a lot of labor in moving debris,” Stice said. “They are essential to our chainsaw operations.”
Teams have also been using single-man lifts to access broken limbs high in trees.
“Instead of having to climb a tree or walk past one, it lets us park there and reach up to get the limbs out. We can also cut a damaged tree if it needs to come straight down to make sure it doesn’t fall toward a home.”
Such heavy equipment isn’t purchased, but rented by state disaster relief ministries at a premium rate through a national agreement arranged between Send Relief and Herc Rentals.
“We have also set up funding through Send Relief to assist with rental costs of needed equipment,” Webb said.
States also add their own equipment through their budgets, as the SBTC did with the addition of a 16-foot freezer/cooler trailer.
“It has a freezer compartment in the front with a cooled section in the back,” Stice said. “It’s brand new and we’re sending it today (Oct. 5) to Florida.”
Send Relief is looking to increase the availability of those trucks through the rental agreement as well as purchasing them, Webb said.
About 1,000 Southern Baptists are currently responding to Ian, with Webb saying that number could eventually approach 1,500. If the volunteer count for future events grows, it would lead to more rescue boats and training for those operating them.
