Increasing needs from hurricanes match calls for more Disaster Relief volunteers

NASHVILLE (BP) — Hurricane Katrina’s destruction in 2005 to New Orleans and surrounding areas prompted a yearslong response by Southern Baptist churches and Disaster Relief personnel, with volunteer recruitment for the latter spiking up to 80,000.

Coy Webb, director for Send Relief Crisis Response, wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar for the damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“We’re at around 40,000 trained Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers, which has been pretty consistent for most of our history,” he told Baptist Press. “Still, I expect to see a spike in the number of those wanting to help.”