Convoy of Hope deploys teams for Hurricane Dorian aid

Convoy of Hope’s international disaster services division is deploying teams to respond to Hurricane Dorian.

The slow-moving Category 5 hurricane — with winds as high as 185 mph — hit the northwestern Bahamas over the Labor Day weekend and is expected to make landfall in the southeast United States, according to a news release from the Springfield humanitarian nonprofit. The hurricane killed at least five people in the Bahamas, according to a CNN report.

Convoy of Hope deployed a team to the Bahamas this morning, with solar lights and water filters ready to distribute. Nonprofit officials also will work with local partners to distribute food, water and hygiene products, among other disaster relief supplies.

“We worked in the Bahamas after Hurricane Joaquin in 2015 and have been in contact with many of the partners we worked with then,” said Jeff Nene, Convoy of Hope’s national spokesman, in the release. “Our goal will be to provide immediate help to those who need it most.”

Additionally, Convoy of Hope is sending a team to Nashville, Tennessee, where it will respond to areas expected to be impacted over the next few days in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Convoy of Hope spokeswoman Jessica Blake said the nonprofit send a truckload of supplies to Florida, with two more truckloads of disaster relief supplies scheduled to head out today.