A Complete History
December 1984
Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief was formed with 25 volunteers and was handled through the Brotherhood Commission Relief Ministries. Bob Simpkins became the first Disaster Relief Director.
March 1985
The first Disaster Relief team consisted of 5 men who responded to a tornado in western Pennsylvania.
March 1986
Kentucky Disaster Relief teams responded to a tornado in Newport, KY, with the first mass feeding effort and with the help of 9 volunteers.
February 1989
Flooding in the Louisville area created a need for mass feeding and chainsaw work. Forty-five volunteers responded. The feeding team provided 22,000 meals.
September 1989
Hurricane Hugo. There were 30 volunteers who provided meals (25,693) on site at the Sumter High School, Sumter, NC.
August 1991
Hurricane Bob caused damage in Cape Cod area of Massachusetts. Disaster Relief volunteers saved the government 3 million dollars in clean-up costs.
October 1992
Hurricane Andrew caused significant damage in Kendall and Florida City, FL. Volunteers (207) in mass feeding and chainsaw cleanup responded, serving 328,864 meals.
July/August 1993
There was flooding in the upper Mississippi area. Kentucky sent 184 volunteers serving 33,184 meals and pumped out mud from homes.
September 1996
Hurricane Fran struck near Jacksonville, NC. Kentucky volunteers responded with 111 people serving 33,132 meals and completing 193 projects.
July 2001
Flooding in West Virginia. One hundred thirty volunteers responded, providing 77,693 meals and clean-up on 25 projects.
September-December 2001
Terrorist attack in New York. Heavy dust cleanup and feeding were provided by 315 volunteers They cleaned 643 apartments and provided 68,789 meals.
May-December 2003
There were 10 callouts for flooding and tornados in and around Kentucky.
August 2005
Hurricane Katrina. This was one of the largest responses that Kentucky Baptists had responded to, lasting for months.
October 2012
Hurricane Sandy caused damage along the eastern US coast. Volunteers cleaned out sand and provided food for victims.
March 2021
Stanton KY area and far eastern KY was flooded. Volunteers provide food, mud cleanup, showers and laundry.
December 2021
Western Kentucky tornado. An EF4 tornado struck western KY from Mayfield to Dawson Springs and Campbellsville.
July 2022
Eastern KY Flooding covered 14 counties and caused the deaths of 14 people, displacing thousands.