In the aftermath of Hurricane Odile, which hit the coast of Baja California Sur on Monday, September 15, 2014, Jehovah’s Witnesses from the surrounding area provided food, water, and medicine to their members affected by the storm. No Witnesses were killed or injured in what proved to be the strongest storm to hit the peninsula since 1967. However, the storm destroyed 82 of the Witnesses’ homes and severely damaged 85 others, displacing 125 families. Those displaced were given shelter in the homes of fellow worshippers. Four days before the hurricane struck, relief committees of Witness volunteers sent letters to congregations in the area outlining how to prepare. Witness elders also arranged to relocate congregation members who lived in vulnerable structures to the homes of other Witnesses. The branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Mexico sent over 20 tons of relief provisions to the disaster area.

Media Contact(s):

International: J. R. Brown, Office of Public Information, tel. +1 718 560 5000

Mexico: Gamaliel Camarillo, tel. +52 555 133 3048