DALLAS, Texas — Hurricane Helene has left millions of people stranded and without power, stretching from different parts of the U.S. from Florida to North Carolina and parts of the Midwest causing widespread destruction.
“In some of these places it's causing once-in-a-thousand-year floods,” said John Hall a spokesperson with Texans on Mission, formally known as Texas Baptist Men.
Hall said they already have crews in Tampa, Florida helping people in the area but are preparing to send more units to Northeast Tennessee.
Hall said they’re not arriving empty-handed. Crews will take a mobile kitchen unit that can provide 30,000 meals a day along with a portable shower and laundry unit.
Hall said crews will leave on Monday and arrive in Northeast Tennessee ready to serve a warm meal by Wednesday.
"It is an area that if we did not come up and meet the needs, those needs may not be met,” said Hall. “We're just thankful for that opportunity to make somebody's life a little better.”
Helene blew ashore in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday with winds of 140 mph.
From there, it quickly moved through Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it “looks like a bomb went off” after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air. Weakened, Helene then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains, sending creeks and rivers over their banks and straining dams.
Hall said volunteers will stay as long as needed. They plan to have around 120 people helping in the area.
If you would like to donate to those impacted by Hurricane Helene, Texans on Mission has a relief set up on its website.