Seventh-day Adventists have sprung into action to assist hundreds of people affected by deadly floods in central Texas.
Torrential rain for more than a week has caused rivers to overflow their banks and led to at least 17 deaths in Texas, which is experiencing the wettest month in its history.
Volunteers with Adventist Community Services have handed out clothing to more than 750 people in one of the worst-hit cities, San Marcos, from a mobile distribution truck this week, the Adventist Church’s North American Division said Thursday.
Adventist Community Services is also working with Houston authorities to see how it can best respond to local needs after more than 500 houses were flooded there.
Part of the assistance may come from a Pathfinder project that saw Pathfinders fill 3,000 buckets with cleaning supplies at their international camporee in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in August 2014.
“The buckets were then distributed across the country for use in major events such as this one,” the North American Division said in a statement.
The buckets project was the brainchild of Adventist Community Services and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, or ADRA.
The Texas flooding has not affected the Adventist world church’s General Conference session in San Antonio on July 2 to 11.
In addition to the flood response, Adventist Community Services have set up a donations center in Delmont, South Dakota, to assist the community after a tornado ripped through the town on May 10.
