GREENVILLE, N.C.—A Baptist disaster relief assessment team was in eastern North Carolina July 2, evaluating damage from a severe thunderstorm that knocked out power and downed trees the night before—only 48 hours after similar storms spread havoc across much of the Mid-Atlantic region.

Gaylon Moss, disaster relief coordinator for North Carolina Baptist Men, said his organization was working with local volunteers to clean up debris in Beaufort and Pitt counties, near the state’s coast.

A storm packing 80-mile-an-hour winds swept through the area the night of July 1, causing power outages for more than 15,000 and killing three people, the Greenville Daily Reflector reported. The next day temperatures soared to the upper 90s, part of a heat wave felt across the Mid-Atlantic.

Moss said North Carolina Baptist Men likely would not need to call up outside relief or feeding units for the effort. Local volunteers would be able to provide assistance, he said.

Matthew Johnson, pastor of First Baptist Church of Smithton in Belhaven, N.C., said no one expected the severity of the storm.

“There was a lot of wind damage and our building lost some trees,” said Johnson, whose church—near the Pamlico Sound about 50 miles east of Greenville—remained without power July 2.

The suddenness of the storm took even experienced boaters by surprise. Johnson said one of his church members, who has spent most of his life on the water, was caught off shore as the wind accelerated, nearly capsizing his boat and prompting vigorous bailing. “It took everything he had to get back to land,” said Johnson.

Two days earlier violent thunderstorms caused havoc across Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, as well as a stretch of North Carolina between Raleigh and Durham. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina is monitoring damage in the state and has encouraged its affiliated churches to channel relief efforts through North Carolina Baptist Men, said Linda Jones, CBFNC’s missions coordinator.

Robert Dilday ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.

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