Texas Baptist Men gear up to assist as Idalia barrels toward Florida

Idalia, which strengthened into a hurricane early Tuesday, has already brought damage and flooding to Cuba.

As the storm barrelled toward Florida Monday evening, the storm was about 35 miles south-southwest of the western tip of Cuba and moving north at 8 mph with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm is projected to have sustained winds of up to 120 mph as it approaches Florida, making it a Category 3 hurricane. 

As people along the Gulf Coast prepare for impact, helpers here in North Texas are gearing up to take resources to the area.

Texas Baptist Men are loading trucks with supplies here in North Texas to make their way to Florida any day now. They'll join the National Guard, Highway Patrol and other first responders already in place and ready to respond in the aftermath. Their volunteers have been busy with other disasters over the past month or so, but the work continues.

In Florida along the Gulf Coast, sandbags and boarded windows are up. It’s a telltale sign that a storm is on the way. State and local officials are warning residents to brace for what could be the worst storm in years.

Tampa mayor Jane Castor reminded residents in a press conference that the rule of thumb is to run from the water and hide from the wind. Worry is starting to set in among residents.

I'm just afraid that our luck is going to run out. We're not going to be prepared one time and that's when the luck's going to run out.

Meanwhile, the Texas Baptist Men are gearing up to put boots on the ground when and where needed. Member John Hall said teams were in motion as of Monday night.

“All of our feeding teams, all of our shower and laundry teams, all of our chaplains, all of our flood recovery, and all of our chainsaw teams are all making preparations to go to Florida right now,” he said.

Hall said it's been a busy time, with their volunteers answering the calls for back-to-back disasters.

“We've purchased and sent supplies to Maui, we have a team in Bastrop [County], we're talking to Canadians to help with wildfires there, and on top of that, we have a hurricane heading towards Florida,” Hall said.

A state of emergency has been issued for several counties as well as mandatory evacuations and school closures.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned of a “major impact” to the state. Idalia would be the first storm to hit Florida this hurricane season and a potentially big blow to the state, which is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Ian almost a year ago.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season would be far busier than initially forecast, partly because of extremely warm ocean temperatures. The season runs through Nov. 30, with August and September typically the peak.