Rare August storm results in second Iowa deployment for Billy Graham Rapid Response Team

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 17, 2020 – After a team of chaplains deployed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last week, additional assessments of the damage in the area have resulted in a second deployment site for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (RRT). Crisis-trained RRT chaplains will join Samaritan’s Purse in Tama County, Iowa, to provide emotional and spiritual support after straight-line winds devastated the area last week.

More than 74,000 people in eastern Iowa continue to be without power nearly a week after the storm ripped through the area, initially cutting power to more than 1 million people. With straight-line winds of more than 100 mph, the storm flattened many homes and businesses across the area.

“The extent of the damage and destruction from the derecho in Iowa last week is catastrophic,” said Josh Holland, assistant director of the RRT. “In addition to our chaplains already on the ground in Cedar Rapids, we are sending more crisis-trained chaplains to Tama County to share the love and hope found in Jesus Christ to those who have been impacted by the storms. Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the people of Iowa.”

The RRT sent a team of chaplains to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last week immediately after the storm, and continues to work in Bertie County, North Carolina, following a tornado on Aug. 4.

For more information on the ministry, including videos, photos, news articles and an interactive map of former and current deployments, visit 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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