Hampton Roads-based Mercy Chefs and Operation Blessing are still helping people pick up the pieces one week after tornadoes destroyed towns in Oklahoma and Nebraska.
News 3 caught up with both organizations on Sunday.
Portsmouth-based Mercy Chefs arrived in Sulphur, Okla. one week ago after tornadoes killed four and injured hundreds across the state.
CEO Gary LeBlanc tells News 3 that his team has spent the week going door-to-door to people working to repair and rebuild their homes and businesses. Over the weekend, the chefs also fed other volunteer organizations helping with cleanup.
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After seven days in Sulphur, LeBlanc says the power is back on and local businesses are starting to open again. He believes it's almost time for his crew to pack up, but they're not coming back to Portsmouth just yet.
There's concern more tornadoes could hit the Plains early this week and Mercy Chefs wants to be able to respond.
“We’re gonna restage and reset the kitchen and move it back up to Tulsa," LeBlanc told News in a Zoom call. "We’re going to keep the core of a response team here in Oklahoma and we’re going to stay glued to the weather stations over the weekend to watch these next round of storms that’ll be coming through.”
In Nebraska, the Deployment Manager for Virginia Beach-based Operation Blessing says the nonprofit's crews just moved their efforts from Elkhorn to Blair, a rural town that had been neglected after tornadoes moved through last week.
“There’s one homeowner that we partnered with [Saturday]. I won’t mention his name, but he lost everything. He had a bass boat left on a concrete slab where his garage used to be. His home was leveled," said Steffany Horton.
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Horton says tree debris and ongoing rain have made cleanup difficult.
When asked how people can help, she told News 3 that the organization's website is good for donations and signing up to be a volunteer, but she says prayer is helpful too.
“The residents here are definitely still in shock and they are just reaching out and a lot of them just want to be heard and held and loved on," she said.
Horton adds that there are no current plans for Operation Blessing volunteers to return home from Nebraska just yet.
