On 1 September 2019, Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas. The Category 5 storm, with 185mph winds and storm surges of up to 23 feet, is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall.
Regarded as the worst natural disaster in the country’s history, the storm caused widespread flooding and destruction. It killed at least 50 people and left more than 70,000 people homeless.
Within hours, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) personnel were deployed to help Samaritan’s Purse execute an immediate disaster response plan – providing life-saving help where it was needed most.
By 3 September, MAF’s Global Disaster Response Manager John Woodberry was co-ordinating flight operations, with MAF Caravan Pilot Brent Palmer flying shuttle loads of personnel and relief cargo using an aircraft owned by Samaritan’s Purse.
MAF staff, consisting of John Gorenflo and Vaughan Woodward, helped co-ordinate relief flights and supported the aid operation, working with churches and organisations such as Missionary Flight International (MFI) and The Salvation Army. On 15 September, Sam Baguma joined MAF’s team.
In Freeport, Grand Bahama’s main city, more than 100 churches received relief supplies to give to local communities. Flights also enabled medical teams from Samaritan’s Purse to set up a 40-bed emergency field hospital that was able to care for 100 patients a day. The number of patients seen now stands at 1,700.
Staff at the hospital were happy to share their faith, pray for those in need and excited at seeing a number of patients show an interest in the gospel.
On Abaco Island, where an estimated 4,000 people required shelter, the distribution team – aided by Dutch Marines – handed out tarpaulins, hygiene kits, generators, solar lights and jerry cans for door-to-door distribution. Desalination units providing clean water were given to communities in need, with MAF staff also assisting teams working on emergency relief projects on the surrounding islands.
‘Please keep them in your prayers’
MAF’s John Woodberry says, ‘We are blessed to be able to serve these people in their time of need. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they attempt to rebuild their homes and lives.’ At the time of writing, MFI’s 49 MAF co-ordinated flights have flown 279 passengers and transported about 230,000lb of relief aid. Some 244 flights carrying 599 passengers have been carried out by Samaritan’s Purse, which has distributed 89,000 litres of clean water.
Although no cases of cholera have been reported, there are fears that, due to unsafe drinking water, diarrhoea and waterborne diseases may appear.
