Operation Compassion Delivers to Houston; Preparing for Irma
Operation Compassion continues delivering much needed disaster relief supplies to the survivors of Hurricane Harvey throughout the Houston area and beyond. With 18 disaster relief sites active across the Houston metro area, eight warehouse sites receiving semi-trailers and delivering to other areas in smaller trucks, pick-up trucks and trailers and 10 church sites receiving loads for local distribution. Operation Compassion has delivered or scheduled 34 trucks during the first week following Hurricane Harvey’s landfall. In addition, there are 71 trucks staged and ready for delivery.
Operation Compassion has helped our disaster partner agencies as well, sending a 53’ freezer trailer to Mercy Chefs to store perishable foods as they serve 13,000 meals daily in Rockport and Houston. Also, in Baytown, there is a shower trailer set up for volunteers and survivors needing to clean up. A dry 53’ trailer has been loaned to a local Church of God of Prophecy warehouse in Houston to facilitate deliveries in their area. Six churches or individuals have participated in the Rent and Drive program, sending box trucks with relief goods to local churches isolated and unable to receive help from established distribution points.
As Operation Compassion continues to serve the survivors of Hurricane Harvey, we are also preparing for the eventual landfall of Hurricane Irma. As Hurricane Irma is the strongest hurricane recorded in the Atlantic, devastating the Lesser Antilles’ island chain and decimating the eastern Caribbean Islands, landfall in Florida will be a catastrophic blow. Not knowing exactly where Hurricane Irma will land and which direction she will head, Operation Compassion has preset 12 possible disaster relief sites from Miami up the coast to Myrtle Beach. Obviously, as the direction of Irma shifts, so will Operation Compassion.
“Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Katia and Jose have the potential to rival and surpass the hurricane season of 2004 and 2005 which saw devastating effects of major hurricanes making landfall on the coastal United States,” stated Dave Lorency, president of Operation Compassion. “Just like then, we need help to continue serving the survivors. This relief effort will not be over in a few weeks, but could take months and years for some to fully recover.”
To assist in the relief effort through donating to Operation Compasssion, please emply the following methods: for online donations visit www.operationcompassion.org (givedirect button); call donations to 423.728.3932; or mail donations to Operation Compassion, 114 Stuart Road, NE PMB 370, Cleveland, TN 37312.
