Samaritan’s Purse is working with local partner churches and the office of emergency management to bring relief after catastrophic losses.
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Our North American Ministries teams are on the ground in Hawaii, spearheading the Samaritan’s Purse relief response following the deadly wildfires that raged across Maui this week. Chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team are also on the island to provide emotional support and spiritual comfort to residents reeling from so many losses.
As soon as it is possible to access the affected areas, teams of volunteers will be helping homeowners in some of the most devastated communities to carefully examine the ashes in search of valuable objects, photos and souvenirs. In addition, in the next few days we plan to send tons of emergency supplies to the island with our DC-8 aircraft.
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham in a post on Facebook post on August 11, he asked people to pray.
“There are a lot of people in shock and devastated,” he said. “Pray for our teams, that we may be the hands and feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, and pray especially for those who have lost loved ones and homes in this tragedy.”
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On Tuesday, dry conditions on the Aloha State’s second-largest island sparked fires; A manageable fire turned catastrophic Wednesday when winds from Category 4 Hurricane Dora spread it into a wildfire. Even from its path, which was moving more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) south of Honolulu, the storm caused gusts up to 70 miles (110 km) per hour across the Islands. They were the cause of the Maui wildfires burning out of control.
We are working with the local emergency management office, partner churches and local leaders as we assess the needs in and around the City of Lahaina.
Tragically, the historic village, home to more than 13,000 residents, has been razed to the ground and more than 50 people have died in the fire. Many residents fled into the ocean as the fire grew out of control. Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke declared a state of emergency for the Islands and the Hawaii National Guard has been mobilized.
As the fires were brought under control again Wednesday night, residents have been left grieving the loss of loved ones, homes and businesses.
Please pray for our teams who are working with our partners on the ground to bring help in this time of great suffering. This is our second response to Hawaii in recent years, following the 2018 response to the catastrophic flooding on Kauai.
We will update this page with information about volunteer opportunities when they become available in the coming days. You can also visit the site spvolunteer.org.
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2023-08-12 01:54:08
#response #wildfires #Hawaii
