Destruction of relief supplies by Hurricane Sandy creates unexpected challenges for World Vision disaster response teams

New York, NY (October 30, 2012) — As hundreds of thousands of East Coast residents continue to seek shelter from Hurricane Sandy, the Christian humanitarian relief organization World Vision is facing unique challenges to respond to hardest hit survivors. On Monday, World Vision’s Domestic Disaster Response team was forced to evacuate its New York site based in the Bronx as floods waters from the East River crept closer to the edge of the facility. By Tuesday, teams returned to the site to find significant flood damage including three to four feet of water within the building and hundreds of relief supplies damaged from this week’s storm.

Relief supplies flooded

See a slideshow of the damage to relief supplies

"Honestly it brought tears to my eyes when I saw it,” said Tim Reeve, World Vision's Bronx storehouse manager, who was among the first to survey this damage today.

Hundreds of emergency food and hygiene kits for storm survivors were destroyed, and several delivery trucks were flooded.

“The irony of this situation is just painful,” said spokesperson Mindy Mizell. “These supplies were meant to help those who have lost power and are dealing with their own flooded homes. And now they’re soaked.”

Fortunately, the organization has warehouses throughout the U.S. and additional pre-positioned supplies from World Vision's Domestic Disaster Headquarters in Dallas are en route. For now, World Vision teams are in New York and Washington D.C. to assess the extent of the damage in under-reported and more impoverished communities and determine how best to help.

View video and pictures of World Vision staff helping pump flood waters out of the Bronx facility. (New Pinterest board shows photo and video resources together.) You can help World Vision's relief efforts by going to www.WorldVision.org/AmericanFamilies.

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About World Vision:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve the world's poor — regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information on their efforts, visit WorldVision.org/press or follow them on Twitter at @WorldVisionNews