DALLAS — Volunteers at Texas Baptist Men are loading trailers and preparing to spend weeks in Kentucky, helping those impacted by the deadly tornadoes that hit multiple states over the weekend.
The death toll in Kentucky rose to 74 people, and 109 are still unaccounted for, according to Governor Andy Beshear.
More than 1,000 homes were damaged in the state. The governor said there were at least four tornadoes, one which stayed on the ground for 200 miles.
The crews with Texas Baptist Men are bringing tarps, wood, showers, chainsaws and feeding equipment. Two to three teams will be deployed this week with around 12 to 17 people per team.
More will be sent as needed. Each deployment is around seven to ten days at a time.
David Wells, director of disaster relief with Texas Baptist Men, said, "Any time we have a major disaster, we want to bring help, hope and healing to the hurting people."
TBM will also have a chaplain with each crew to help people with emotional support. "We are ready to go to any one of those sites and be of help in those areas," said Wells.
Texas Baptist Men has been doing long-term disaster recovery for more than 50 years.