Hurricane Irma Leaving Behind Devastation: Updated 9/8/17
Hurricane Irma, a category five storm with sustained 185 mph winds, barreled through the Eastern Caribbean yesterday, September 6. The storm is one of the strongest Atlantic storms on record.
An initial report from Pastor Stephen Marcel, based in St. Croix, said there was "major devastation" in St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands), Anguilla, and Tortola and Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands).
An article from the Daily Mail today shows some of the "traumatic" pictures emerging from Tortola. It quotes one person saying that Anguilla is "in pieces." Photos from Virgin Gorda are just beginning to be posted on the Facebook group BVI Abroad - Hurricane Irma.
Devastation in Virgin Gorda. Facebook/Michelle Hodges
Please pray for our pastors and churches affected by the storm:
Calvin Mills, Baugher’s Bay, Tortola East End, Tortola Steve Lennard, North Sound, Virgin Gorda Gleason Brooks, The Valley, Virgin Gorda Philip Gumbs, Anguilla Leon George, St. Croix Stephen Marcel, St. Croix Kenrick Bukle, St. Thomas
Director Mark Surbrook was in Haiti with Tim Scott, and the two were able to return home a day early, on September 6, ahead of the storm. Mark wrote that the "path of Irma is over (the) north part of Haiti but very high winds expected in P-au-P."
If you would like to donate to Hurricane Irma Relief, click here.
UPDATE:
As of September 8, we have received word that the church and school in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, were both destroyed. Pastor Kenrick Bukle's home is standing, but flooded. Other news sources show aerial footage of a once-lush island denuded of trees. The St. Thomas airport was damaged, and patients were being transported from the hospital to other islands.
We are still waiting for official word from our other churches on Anguilla, Virgin Gorda, and Tortola. But many news sources tell of extensive damage on these islands.
Thank you for continuing to pray!
