Kasiano Lagos Lopez never had seen a storm as terrible as Hurricane Karl.

The hurricane had sustained winds of 115 mph along with torrential rains when it made landfall about 10 miles west of the Mexican state of Veracruz last Friday afternoon. The eye passed directly over the town of Cardel, where Kasiano is pastor of an evangelical church.

Read more and view photos of our response to the flooding in Mexico.

The pastor said a quick prayer of thanks when the storm passed through and the winds began to subside.

“I thought the worst of it was over,” he said.

Instead, there were more horrors to come. Around 1 a.m., he was awakened by the screams of his neighbors. Karl had produced as much rain in eight hours as the region usually receives in five years. La Antigua, a nearby river, had spilled its banks and flooded the area.

Kasiano found several feet of water inside his house. He and his family rushed to get out, but they were unable to open the front door. They were forced to break the windows to escape the rising waters.

Their neighbors helped them get out of the house and climb to the top of an adjacent building with a ladder. The pastor and his family spent the night on top of the roof.

The waters began to recede the following day, but the damage had been done. Many people had 3-5 feet of water in their houses.

Karl was the worst storm to hit Veracruz in over 50 years, affecting as many as 500,000 people. A city official said there had not been a storm like it since Hurricane Janet in 1955.

Samaritan’s Purse immediately responded through our office in Villahermosa, about 230 miles from Veracruz. Our staff set up a base in Cardel, and is working with Kasiano’s church to help those most affected by the storm.

More than 50 volunteers from the church began assembling food and hygiene kits, and helping distribute them to the affected neighborhood of approximately 1,500 people. Our church partners also are giving out Bibles, and assuring storm victims of Christ’s compassion and concern as they begin to recover.

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Samaritan's Purse , Mexico , Emergency Relief , Hurricane Karl response