Jason Kimak of North American Disaster Relief for Samaritan's Purse says a week and a half out, the damage across the Southeast is widespread and to the scale one would expect to see from a hurricane.
"This Winter Storm Fern, it wreaked havoc across more than half the United States," he relays. "A lot of ice and snow, and it covered the roads as well."
An inch of ice is enough to break branches and infrastructure not built for prolonged freezing conditions, which is common in deep‑South states. Freezing rain and ice are the biggest reasons the Southeast suffered heavy damage as ice accumulated on trees and power lines, causing them to snap and creating widespread outages.
For Samaritan's Purse, the work now involves a lot of chainsaws, shovels, pickaxes, and tarps.
"We're helping people that had a lot of debris that came down from the ice," Kimak reports. "We're removing downed trees, and then we're also tarping a lot of damaged roofs from when those trees fell on their homes."
The ministry could have set up shop in any of hundreds of needy communities, but for the time being, Samaritan's Purse has partnered with local churches and deployed to three of the hardest-hit areas: Oxford and Corinth, Mississippi, up into McNary County, Tennessee, and West Monroe, Louisiana.
A base of operations has also been opened in New Albany, Mississippi.
Helping families with home repair and disaster recovery is reason enough to be there, but Kimak says there is a higher calling as well.
"Alongside of our work, we have chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association who are going out with us, and they spend time with the families and get to hear their story and pray with them," he shares.
"Ultimately, the reason we do this is so that we can share the good news and hope of Jesus Christ."
Volunteers will continue assist homeowners through the month. There will be opportunities for overnight and day volunteers. No skills are necessary prior to serving; they will be led and instructed by experienced team leads.
