Arkansas Tornadoes: Texas Baptist Men sends second team of volunteers
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Help is on the way for Arkansas residents affected by deadly tornadoes that tore through the state Friday.
"Luckily here in Texas we're bedded with so many people that want to help," said Rand Jenkins of the Texas Baptist Men.
Jenkins just got to North Texas from helping folks in Mississippi, impacted by severe weather last week.
He's on the road again, heading to Little Rock, Arkansas.
Texas Baptist Men sending disaster relief crews to Arkansas after deadly tornadoes
On Saturday, the first team of volunteers from Texas Baptist Men started their trip from Dallas to Little Rock, where a deadly tornado left behind a path of devastation.
"It's the Christian thing to do. When somebody is hurting you go and help. You don't ask questions, you know what they need," said Jenkins.
The volunteers are taking a mobile kitchen, capable of feeding some 3,000 people per day.
They're also taking portable washers and dryers.
"We want to meet needs as quickly as possible and help deliver help, hope, and healing in this situation," said John Hall.
This is the second wave of TBM volunteers headed to Arkansas.
"We got into town. That was Saturday. So we've been here for a couple of days," said Wendell Romans, the organization's state chainsaw coordinator.
He and his crew are staying at a church in Jacksonville, Arkansas while they assess the damage to homes and businesses in the area.
"It is just pretty bad. There's a lot of trees on houses. Of course, a lot of trees on the ground. There's a lot of houses that are uninhabitable that are had to be torn down and may be rebuilt," said Romans.
Romans says he has about 14 volunteers that are part of the chainsaw crew en route to help.
Once the assessment is complete, they'll get to work.
"They're bringing equipment with them, such as man lifts and stairs, heavy type equipment to get trees off and out of houses," Romans said.
He says this team will be in Arkansas for at least a week.
Violent storms are responsible for more than 30 deaths across the country over the weekend.
The National Weather Service, so far, has confirmed 52 tornadoes in 11 states, including Arkansas.
Romans says it is important to rotate teams, to give them a chance to catch their breath, but admits they're eager to get back to work.
"Some people are mad, some people are already over it, and some people just need to talk. They want to tell you what happened and they just need somebody to listen. And that's what we're here for," he said.
Romans tells FOX 4 in Texas alone he has 23 chainsaw teams so he'll be able to rotate them often to keep folks from burning out.
He says a team from Collin County will head to Arkansas next.