Updated at 5:38 p.m., Oct. 6, to include additional information.

First Baptist Church of Columbia is busy assisting flood victims, even as church members Tuesday mourned the loss of one of their own.

Church member Richard Milroy, 82, “died in his car sometime in the last couple of days due to devastating floods,” minister of discipleship Wes Church wrote to church members in an email he shared with The Courier.

“How do we even begin to put into words all of the emotions we are experiencing?” Church said. “There is so much heartbreak and need in our community.”

Church said there are members of Columbia First Baptist who have been evacuated or have lost homes or cars, and some have lost all their belongings.

Even with its own losses, First Baptist is reaching out to help other victims in the Columbia area by housing 13 South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers who are feeding more than 1,000 first responders at a nearby city maintenance area.

Also, college and high school students and their leaders are helping some church members clean up their flood-damaged homes. Church volunteers are coordinating with Woodfield Park Baptist Church to collect donations of bottled water and are delivering refreshments to firemen, security personnel and EMS staff working outside Baptist Hospital.

Across the state, in an apparent grassroots movement spurred by social media, numerous churches and Baptist associations have begun collecting truckloads of bottled water and driving them to Columbia, where the city’s drinking water has been compromised by bacteria-laden floodwaters.

In Charleston, Baptist leaders are assessing the flood damage. Skip Owens, interim director of missions for Charleston Baptist Association, said local disaster relief team members will meet with Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief leaders Wednesday morning to begin coordinating their response.

Charleston Baptist Church pastor Jack Moore told The Courier that his church remained dry during the flooding, although some members experience flooding at their homes. “Some live near the Edisto River, and they are concerned,” he said. “Some residents along the Edisto expect the river to crest at about 15 feet. If that happens, they should be okay.”

Community Church, which is west of the Ashley River, was “pretty much destroyed” said Moore. “We are offering them our facilities for their Awana program.” The church plans to hold worship services in a nearby theater.