After Beryl tore through the Windward Islands and into the Gulf of Mexico, it landed on the U.S. shoreline in Texas as forecasters urged residents to evacuate before facing intense winds and potentially deadly storm surge.
Mercy Chefs is a group that enters disaster areas to provide meals and feed people while rebuilding and restoring power grids are underway.
Raymond LeBlanc, a community engagement manager for Mercy Chefs, mentions that one of the major challenges after a disaster is power outages. Communities often struggle to refrigerate food or cook without power in those crucial hours and days.
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LeBlanc shares that in the initial days following the storm, his organization served around 10,000 meals from their base in Houston, with multiple locations, while Gulf of Mexico communities in the U.S. strive to recuperate amidst sweltering summer conditions. He expects Mercy Chefs to have served approximately 20,000 meals by the end of Thursday.
Having provided more than 25 million meals since its inception over 18 years ago, Mercy Chefs continues its mission of delivering aid to communities in need.
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Beryl struck areas already experiencing intense heat waves during the summer period. LeBlanc reflects on the significance of sharing a meal with individuals who have endured hardship and loss, unable to cool their homes or prepare meals for themselves.
As Beryl ravaged the Windward Islands while passing through the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm, Mercy Chefs extended their meal services to residents in those regions as they strive to rebuild and restore their power infrastructure.
LeBlanc reports challenges faced by teams in delivering supplies to islands like Grenada due to severe damage to the infrastructure.
