As volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tirelessly aided victims of Hurricane Helene, they received alarming news: another storm, Hurricane Milton, was barreling towards their homes in Tampa, Florida.
“Their first thought was to continue serving those in need, no matter what the next week would bring,” said Kasey Hess, regional leader for the Church in Tampa.
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Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, near Sarasota, Florida, as a Category 3 storm. With it came flooding from Jacksonville to the Everglades. Widespread power outages affected more than 3 million people. Preliminary reports indicate more than 40 tornadoes throughout central and south Florida.
Many residents in the area were just beginning to dig out from the storm surge, record flooding and wind damage brought on by Hurricane Helene. Milton is the fourth hurricane to make landfall in the United States in 2024. Six weeks remain in the 2024 hurricane season.
Latter-day Saints spent October 12 and 13 assessing damage and helping their neighbors throughout central and southern Florida. All missionaries are safe, and some Church buildings in Florida were damaged.
“Disaster relief work is truly the 99 seeking the 1,” said Elder John D. Amos of Orlando, Area Seventy in the Church’s North America Southeast Area and member of the Area’s Disaster Response Committee. “We gather in groups by the hundreds, wearing yellow shirts and carrying chainsaws, ready to help those in need. But we are not just removing trees — we are restoring hope. We are not just mucking out homes — we are sharing His light. We are not just tarping a roof — we are bringing peace. In doing so, we are living the great commandments to love God and love our neighbors.”
This coming weekend (October 19–20) the Church will organize command centers in Florida to help with disaster relief.
Relief work for these two storms continues throughout Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina. To date, more than 12,000 volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ have donated 170,000 hours to assist with relief efforts at 5,700 homes.
An estimated 5,500 volunteers from the Church will add to that growing total this weekend.
“We pray that the Lord will not only magnify our efforts but increase our capacity in this long and difficult work,” said Elder Craig C. Christensen, the Church’s North America Southeast Area President. “We continually look to our Savior Jesus Christ for strength and for comfort as we weather the aftermath of these storms and others that may come.”