Franklin Graham has told Premier Christian Radio “no one has seen water as deep” as the Hurricane Helene floods.
The son of evangelist Billy Graham is the Director of relief organisation Samaritan’s Purse, headquartered in North Carolina, where much of the damage is.
At least 130 people are known to have died so far. Swathes of Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and North and South Carolina are underwater.
“We’ve had a lot of damage. They talk about ‘one hundred year’ floods – this a ‘thousand year’ flood,” said Graham.
“At Samaritans purse, we’re helping people mud-out their homes. When the water comes into a home, and then goes down, sometimes people are left with 5 feet of mud inside.
“We’ve been taking chainsaws to cut the trees that have fallen on people’s houses. Also delivering a lot of water. We’ve been using a helicopter to go to remote communities where the roads have been washed away, and there’s no way in or out.
“We’ve helped set up an emergency hospital.”
Graham also joined Donald Trump on a visit to Georgia to view the aftermath of the hurricane.
“God bless everybody,” said the Republican nominee, “Franklin, thank you very much for being here quickly. Very, very quickly. He’s always so early.”
Graham then led prayer for the affected areas, saying: “It’s going to take an army of volunteers and people to respond. At Samaritan’s Purse, we want to respond always in Jesus’ name. We want people to know that God loves them, that God cares for them.
“Sometimes when a storm like this comes people think that God is mad at us. That this is his judgement. No.”
The evangelist told Premier that rescue efforts are being conducted without proper power supplies: “Things change by the minute. Communication is a huge thing. We’re trying to get in touch with Elon Musk, to see if he’ll give us some of his Starlink platforms for these remote areas, because it’s needed right now.”
Yet despite the destruction, he recounted how Samaritan’s Purse has been able to be the “hands, feet and touch of Jesus” for people who have lost seemingly everything:
“One lady, we showed up to work at her house and she had tears. She said: ‘I’m not crying because of the things I have lost, I’m crying because love has showed up.’ What it’s all about is making sure Christ is known in the middle of these storms.”