Samaritan's Purse in North Carolina to help victims of Hurricane Florence

Donations needed to help thousands of devastated homeowners recover

CALGARY, Sept. 17, 2018 /CNW/ - Samaritan's Purse Canada is sending trained Canadian staff to work alongside our U.S. colleagues in helping tens of thousands of people victimized by Hurricane Florence.

Three U.S.-based Samaritan's Purse Disaster Relief Unit tractor trailers have been sent to North Carolina to help in the clean-up of badly damaged homes and neighborhoods. Hurricane Florence slammed into the southeastern U.S. last weekend—causing widespread flooding and damage, and least 18 deaths.

"In the wake of this storm, many are facing destruction and ruin," says Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse. "We want them to know they don't have to despair. God loves them, and He hasn't forgotten them."

Disaster Relief Units are outfitted with emergency equipment including generators, pumps, hand tools, and safety gear for volunteers. The units also serve as volunteer coordination and training centers, and are equipped with a self-contained office, communications system, and other supplies.

Some of Samaritan's Purse Canada's four Disaster Relief Units—two based in Calgary and two more in southern Ontario—played important roles in flood clean-ups in B.C. and New Brunswick earlier this year, and they are ready for deployment to hurricane-damaged areas of the Carolinas if needed.

In recent years, Samaritan's Purse has assisted victims of a wide variety of natural disasters including flooding in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, and British Columbia, plus wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alberta, and the B.C. interior.

Samaritan's Purse has also helped victims of international disasters including hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma in the U.S. and the Caribbean in 2017, Hurricane Matthew in Haiti in 2016, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013, and the 2011 earthquake/tsunami in Japan.

Interviews: Two Samaritan's Purse Canada staff members in Calgary, who are overseeing our contributions to the relief effort, are available for news media interviews:

• Response Director Brent Davis: bdavis@samaritan.ca, 403-681-1199 (cell)
• Domestic Disaster Relief Manager Tammy Suitor: tsuitor@samaritan.ca, 403-472-5076 (cell)

Donations Needed: Canadians can donate to Samaritan's Purse disaster relief work by visiting SamaritansPurse.ca or calling 1-800-663-6500.

About Samaritan's Purse Canada: Samaritan's Purse is a Christian organization that takes its name from Jesus Christ's biblical story of the Good Samaritan. Like that Good Samaritan, who found a beaten man and helped restore him, we aid victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and persecution. Besides disaster relief, our work includes collecting and distributing gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, and providing safe water, vocational skills and agricultural supplies and training to families in the developing world. Learn more at SamaritansPurse.ca

SOURCE Samaritan's Purse Canada