2018 Hurricane Harvey

HOUSTON (BP) -- A chain of Texas-based abortion clinics has announced it will provide "no-cost abortions" during the month of September "for those affected by Hurricane Harvey." Whole Woman's Health -- which operates Texas clinics in Austin, Fort Worth, McAllen and San Antonio -- announced its free-abortion campaign in a Sept. 1 blog post stating, "The need for abortion care does not stop for natural disasters." Supported by abortion-assistance funds, including the Lilith Fund and the Stigma Relief Fund, Whole Woman's Health will offer free travel and lodging as part of its campaign.

HOUSTON (BP) -- The devastation Houston-area pastor Ryan Rush has witnessed in recent days is heartbreaking. "We've seen hundreds of our neighbors lose everything they owned, and the idea of the work ahead is overwhelming. The thing that sustains us, however, is the incredible way this disaster has brought together the Body of Christ as we seek to share the love of Jesus with our community," said Rush, pastor of Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, Texas.

AUSTIN, Texas (BP) -- Hurricane Harvey evacuees in a mega-shelter southeast of Austin are being fed with meals prepared by Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief volunteers at the Austin-area First Baptist Church in Pflugerville. The food, provided and distributed by the American Red Cross, is transported to the shelter from the church. The evacuees, originally housed in Austin's convention center and other shelters across the city, began moving to the mega-shelter in an industrial park on Friday, Sept. 1.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey to Houston-area churches, LifeWay Christian Resources and Woman's Missionary Union (WMU) were among those this week offering support through the recovery process. LifeWay announced Friday (Sept. 1) the organization is preparing to send Bibles and resources to the Houston area. And National Woman's Missionary Union and the WMU Foundation have announced they will assist hurricane victims with a $5,000 HEART (Humanitarian Emergency Aid for Rebuilding Tomorrow) Fund grant.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (BP) -- A half-dozen Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) rumbled through the parking lot of Annaville Baptist Church in Corpus Christi. Both at noon Thursday (Aug. 31) and then again in sweltering temperatures at 4 p.m., the ERVs picked up more than 2,500 meals each time prepared by Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief feeding volunteers for distribution to victims of Hurricane Harvey in communities along the Gulf Coast.

MADISONVILLE, Texas -- Kevin McKenzie, owner of McKenzie's Barbeque and Burgers, and other restaurant owners were meeting with area church representatives at First Baptist in Madisonville, Texas, to discuss how to assist Hurricane Harvey evacuees making their way to their small town of 4,400, located 40 miles northeast of Bryan-College Station As they met Wednesday (Aug. 30), someone called the church about the plight in Port Neches, 176 miles away, of at least 200 people who had sought refuge from rising waters at the town's First Baptist Church but had few provisions.

DALLAS (BP) -- In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, GuideStone Financial Resources is offering tips for churches and ministries faced with property damage and claims. Gaelen Cole, senior manager of risk and compliance for the Southern Baptist entity's Property and Casualty area says churches should consider four main steps:

CYPRESS, Texas (BP) -- All's good, Nicole Richert kept saying as she and her husband were "hanging out" and "relaxing" with 16 strangers and six dogs in their Houston-area home days after Hurricane Harvey's deluge and flooding. "We were just headed to the gas station when my aunt called, and she was looking for a lady named Judy who had been air boated out of her neighborhood," Richert told the Southern Baptist TEXAN. She and her husband Trent had just pulled into the very Shell station where her aunt had told them to find the woman and her husband.

HOUSTON (BP) -- Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) Disaster Relief units have begun deployment for what could be the largest relief effort the state of Texas has seen. With destruction from Hurricane Harvey covering almost a quarter of the state, DR leaders said their greatest need will be people and finances. Calls for help have come from Corpus Christi, where the storm made landfall, and up the I-35 corridor to San Antonio, Austin, Waco and back down to the greater Houston area, which is floundering under as much as 25 inches of rain in places.

HOUSTON (BP) -- As of Monday morning, news outlets reported that Hurricane Harvey had already dropped 11 trillion gallons of rain over south Texas. More than 300,000 customers were without power. Officials have declared 62 counties disaster areas as the initial destruction caused by 132 mph wind gusts has been showered with unprecedented levels of rainfall. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) expected some of the hardest-hit regions to be accessible only to search and rescue teams.