JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Baptists are mobilizing yet another disaster-relief effort as Hurricane Frances, a category 4 storm, bears down on Florida.
Baptist relief workers are planning to cook up to a million total meals a week after Hurricane Frances hits. Thirty feeding units, each capable of feeding up to 20,000 meals a day, are scheduled to move in as soon as possible following the storm. Ten more large mobile kitchens have been placed on standby.
Disaster-relief leaders from the Southern Baptist Convention and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are enlisting volunteers from across the country.
Hurricane Frances, which is sustaining 145 mph winds, most likely will hit the eastern coast of Florida Sept. 4, although forecasters remain unsure about the direction the storm will take.
Frances is headed toward the state just three weeks after Hurricane Charley swept through southwest and central Florida, causing more than $15 billion in damage and claiming 32 lives in Florida and the Caribbean.
According to records from the National Hurricane Center in Miami dating back to 1871, this will be the first time two category 4 hurricanes will hit the United States in the same year, let alone within a month of each other.
“People have already taken time off work to go down there and assist with relief efforts for Charley, and now they're back home,” said Paul Thibodeaux, who will serve as interim coordinator for the CBF's hurricane response. “They may not be able to go back right away. This represents a real challenge for recruiting volunteers.”
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