Ottawa Flood Disaster Response
- Details
- Category: Blog
- Published: Monday, 14 August 2023 14:15
As Ottawa residents struggle to recover from devastating flash floods, Samaritan’s Purse has accepted a City of Ottawa invitation to offer physical and spiritual help wherever possible. This is the fifth time SP relief teams have served in the Ottawa region. They assisted people impacted by tornadoes in 2018, helped clean up homes after extensive flooding in 2017 and 2019, and removed hundreds of downed trees after a violent 2020 windstorm.
Residents needing help with their home or property can call 1-844-547-2663.
Click here and click 'Donate' to support this and future relief efforts.
(photo: Flooding along the Kichi Zibi Mikan road (formerly the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway) created havoc for vehicles and their drivers on Thursday. PHOTO BY JEAN LEVAC /Postmedia)
—
On Thursday, Aug. 10, as much as 100 mm of rain fell in just a few hours, closing roads, swamping vehicles, and damaging more than 150 homes through overland flooding or sewer back-ups.
In response, members of our Canadian Disaster Relief team are in Ottawa coordinating a response with officials and churches.
One of our Disaster Relief Units—a tractor-trailer equipped with flood recovery equipment, safety gear, and other tools—is also being sent to the city. After setting up Sunday at The Met Church, our team will clean up flooded basements and prepare homes for repair, all at no cost to homeowners.
"Our hearts go out to the Ottawa homeowners who were impacted by the floods and now face the monumental task of cleaning up,” said Brent Davis, Samaritan’s Purse’s director of Canadian ministry projects. “We are grateful to accept the city’s invitation to offer physical and spiritual help in any way we're able."
Our sister organization, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada, often works alongside by providing crisis-trained volunteer chaplains to comfort and pray with volunteers, first responders, and people impacted by disaster. Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains are accompanying Samaritan’s Purse staff in Ottawa.
Donations Needed
To support Samaritan’s Purse’s disaster relief efforts, please visit SamaritansPurse.ca (click on “Donate”) or call 1-800-663-6500.
About Samaritan’s Purse Canada
Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian relief and development organization that takes its name from Jesus Christ’s biblical story of the Good Samaritan. Like that Good Samaritan, who found a beaten man and helped restore him, we aid victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and persecution. Besides disaster relief, our work includes collecting and distributing gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, providing safe water, teaching vocational skills, and providing agricultural supplies and training to families in the developing world. Learn more at SamaritansPurse.ca.
