CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 16, 2020 – The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (BG-RRT) has a team of crisis-trained chaplains in Alexander County, North Carolina, to provide emotional and spiritual support to the community after torrential rain and flooding resulted in at least six deaths.
The storm washed out bridges and closed multiple roads in the area, with five of the six deaths occurring at the Hiddenite Family Campground.
“With an event like this that is so tragic, our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers are with the individuals who lost so much, especially those who lost loved ones as a result of this unexpected flash flooding,” said Josh Holland, assistant director of the BG-RRT. “We have crisis-trained chaplains who are committed to walking through this with the community. We will do whatever we can to let the community know that even in the most desperate of circumstances there is a God in Heaven who loves them and that hope and peace can be found through Jesus Christ.”
In addition to the chaplains already serving the victims and community, BG-RRT Manager of Law Enforcement Relations David Rutledge will offer a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing with first responders who were part of the search and rescue teams.
This is the 45th deployment of the year for the BG-RRT and the fourth as a result of flooding.
For more information on the ministry, including videos, photos, news articles and an interactive map of former and current deployments, visit the RRT press kit or BillyGraham.org/RRT. Updates can also be found at Facebook.com/RRTChaplains.
About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team:
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team was developed by Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It has since grown into an international network of chaplains in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia who are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. They have deployed to more than 450 disaster sites across the globe, including shootings, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes.
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