BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Volunteers and mechanics are working against time at Brunswick Golden Isles Airport after a powerful storm tore through the area last night, ripping away a section of a local ministry’s hangar roof and leaving the facility with a hole in its roof as a second wave of severe weather is expected tonight.
The storm’s high winds peeled back the metal roofing and gutters of the Wings of Grace Ministries hangar, sending several inches of rainwater pouring into newly renovated spaces. Inside, the team has been working around the clock, deploying towels, vacuums, and industrial fans to dry out the building to prevent mold.
The damage strikes a particularly painful blow to the nonprofit, targeting office spaces and rest areas that the ministry had just spent $30,000 to upgrade.
“This was an all-night and all-morning kind of thing; we had to be quick about it,” said Key Imperial, Communications Assistant for Wings of Grace Ministries, noting that the winds sheared off the roof and gutters, causing widespread water seepage. “Just when we have the final touches done, the weather comes through.”
The timing could not have been worse for the organization. Wings of Grace Operations Director Damon Whitlow was hundreds of miles away in the Bahamas preparing for the ministry’s annual month-long youth mission trip when this happened. He was forced to coordinate the emergency disaster response remotely while his wife was simultaneously managing 20 teenagers preparing to deploy on the mission when she had to go to Georgia to see the damage.
“It was the worst possible timing ever,” Whitlow said, stressing the tight financial reality the organization now faces.
With more rain in the immediate forecast and significant repair costs looming, ministry leaders are now turning to the local community, asking for urgent assistance and donations to help secure the hangar and safeguard their mission operations.
The roof is still exposed, as they don’t have a safe way to put a tarp on it. If you want to help, the link is listed here.
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