So far, this hurricane season has been disastrous. It has produced more damaging, land-falling storms than the past few years combined. Hurricane Harvey triggered mass flooding over Texas with a whopping 19 trillion gallons of rainfall, a disaster Governor Greg Abbott estimates will cost Texas up to $180 billion – more than Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Hurricane Irma sets a record for being one of the most intense storms at such a long duration, maintaining wind speeds of 180 mph for 37 hours. It officially made landfall on September 10th, attacking the Florida Keys before the Florida coasts in completely different ways. Millions of people were left without power, and some are still waiting now.
Next came Hurricane Maria, making landfall in Puerto Rico just 10 days later, rating this storm as the strongest to hit the island since 1928. It approached U.S. territory with 100 mph winds and over 30 inches of rain. Puerto Rico as a whole lost power and was under flash flood warnings. We still do not know the full extent of damage and loss of life, and infrastructure there could take months to restore.
We are talking about four weeks of time. Four weeks. Three hurricanes. Loss of power, loss of life. And we desperately wanted to do something to help.
As a Christian – and more specifically, Mennonite – family, we decided to donate to the Mennonite Disaster Service, specifically to the Harvey, Irma, and Maria efforts
Mennonite Disaster Service is a volunteer network of Anabaptist churches that responds in Christian love to those affected by disasters in Canada and the United States. While the main focus is on cleanup, repair and rebuilding homes, this service touches lives and nurtures hope, faith and wholeness. – Mennonite Disaster Service
Click here to see where MDS works.
You can read more about them on their website, as well as their current projects and progress on the hurricane relief. Our thoughts and prayers are with every family affected by these storms.
Images and information courtesy of The Washington Post.
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