Send Relief crisis response experts and volunteers with Kentucky Baptist Southern Baptist Disaster Relief were already in Puerto Rico for a long-scheduled training session when Tropical Storm Ernesto rapidly developed into a storm that caused widespread damage on the island.
“We came for scheduled disaster relief training with pastors and volunteers here in Puerto Rico,” said Coy Webb, Send Relief’s crisis response director. “Now we’ve shifted to doing hands-on, on-the-job training.”
The team’s quick pivot came as strong winds knocked out power for nearly three-quarters of a million people, nearly half of the island, along with 235,000 losing their access to water, according to multiple sources.
“Send Relief and the Kentucky SBDR team are responding to help survivors and to share the hope of Christ with those affected,” Webb said, “from distributing bottled water and emergency food to cutting trees and repairing damaged roofs.”