DOUGLAS, Ga. (BP) – Nine months after Hurricane Helene scythed across the Southeast, Georgia remains one of those areas still cleaning up the damage. The new undergrowth around downed trees testifies to the slow progress. Root balls dwarf Smyrna Baptist Association Director Mike Taylor, that’s considerable since he stands 6’8”tall.
“Half the chicken houses in Coffee County were destroyed. Forestry was devastated. Pecan orchards were completely wiped out,” said Taylor. “The damage was massive.”
Smyrna Baptist Association’s annual meeting was scheduled two weeks after Helene’s Sept. 26, 2024 landfall, prompting its move to mid-December. Other leadership meetings for the association went online to save on time and distance, as roads remained a gnarled mess.
Since then, ministry has continued as churches deal with the obstacles.
“There are forested areas where all the trees are leaning. Some of them are dead and some aren’t,” Taylor said. “We have a couple of churches still without steeples but they’re still doing Vacation Bible School.”
Homes remain in states of disrepair. Blue tarps are common on unfinished roofs and some residents are still waiting on insurance claims while others lack the means to repair their homes. Helene displaced five pastors, but they have since returned.
South Georgia became part of the widespread Southern Baptist Disaster Relief response across Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. Throughout last fall in the Smyrna Baptist Association, mass feeding teams from Alabama joined Mississippi cleanup crews. Fellow Georgia Baptists from outside the stricken area, of course, joined the effort. Donations included thousands of dollars and truckloads of supplies. At its peak, up to 16,000 meals a day were being provided to volunteers and others.
“I was getting calls every 30 minutes,” Taylor said. “A church from Texas would call and say, ‘Look we’re coming. We’ve got chainsaws and us Bubbas are on the way.’”
The cleanup has never stopped for local churches like First Baptist in Douglas.
“Helene blindsided us,” said Don Hattaway, who became senior pastor in 2019 and lived through Fred (2021), Idalia (2023) and Debby (2024). “Storms have come through here before but this was the strongest one I’ve seen.”
The danger of a destroyed chicken house reached beyond the loss, as concerns extended to waste ending up in local water supplies. Downed timber represented a lost secondary income for many, Hattaway included.
First Baptist became a hub for distribution. In the immediate days, the church was one of the few that had electricity. Members used the facilities to prepare free meals while others took advantage of the air conditioning, charged their phones or did other work.
“The churches in Douglas and Coffee County came together and let everyone know we were there to help the community. That’s one of the things I’m thankful for,” said Hattaway.
While recovering, the association is also taking steps for the next storm that warrants a response, whether locally or elsewhere.
“We’re raising $85,000 for a shower trailer that can be dispatched anywhere in the country,” said Taylor. “It will be custom-built and larger than others, with six shower units and two commercial washers and dryers.”
The shower trailer will be crucial for volunteers at the end of the day after cleaning and operating chainsaws or other machinery. Locals can use it during the daytime.
Meanwhile, the association is encouraging churches to enlist volunteers for disaster relief training in Valdosta this October. Douglas will host a training in January.
Hope for Coffee (County), a nonprofit recovery group that includes representation from several churches, is managing long-term rebuilding efforts.
The spirit of doing whatever you can, when you can, became established in the days after Helene struck. Government officials needed help knowing which roads were passable. Taylor said pastors raised their hands.
“Our pastors banded together and said they would do it,” he said. “They took a county map, drove around and reported back. They were the hands and feet needed in that moment.”
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