Imagine you turn on the news only to see your hometown unrecognizable, practically underwater. Roads and buildings demolished, homes and churches completely flooded, and dear friends or family members have gone missing. Or perhaps most tragically, you learn they are now gone forever. For many, this is a nightmare even just to consider. But for those who faced the worst of Hurricane Helene last week, this nightmare is their reality.

According to CNN, Helene’s “sheer wind force and deadly floods left behind a path of destruction stretching over 500 miles from Florida to the Southern Appalachians.” The total death toll, as of Monday, is over 130 people with at least 600 individuals whose whereabouts remain unknown. Asheville, North Carolina, looks as though a tsunami passed through, with entire roads turned to rivers and the floating remnants of homes and businesses. At least 40 have been reported as deceased. Alyssa Hudson, a resident of Black Mountain, told the New York Post, “There were bodies in trees. They were finding bodies under rubble.” Her town, the outlet added, “was all but destroyed.”

Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia also faced severe destruction and loss of life. Thankfully, as The Washington Stand reported, “Disaster relief organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse are swiftly coming to the aid of those affected by the storm.” Even so, while these states are certainly on the path to recovery, the time it’ll take to rebuild even a fraction of what has been lost is anyone’s guess. Reflecting on the damage done in Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp (R) said, “It looks like a tornado went off. It looks like a bomb went off.” According to Kemp, “unprecedented” is one of the only words to describe the wreckage.

“[I]t is devastating,” sighed Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) on Monday’s edition of “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.” Georgia “is my home. This is where I’m from, and I will tell you, this is the worst I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen anything quite like this.” As Carter expressed, “The number of trees that are down, the power that’s out all across the state,” and other consequences of this “devastating natural event” are already difficult to comprehend. But “now we have … potentially another storm that’s brewing in the Caribbean,” he noted.

Yet, he continued, “there are [still] good things that come about” in situations like these. In fact, “I cannot say enough good things about our emergency management personnel and the work that they’ve done.” Carter went on to specifically “mention Leon Davis, a firefighter from Pierce County and Blackshear, Georgia … who was in his truck … trying to help people” when “a tree fell on his truck and killed him.” The congressman added, “[O]ur thoughts and prayers are certainly going out to his family.”

Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, observed how first responders are often taken for granted. When they’re “out there during these times,” he said, “everyone else is hunkered down.” In addition to the first responders, Carter also expressed his gratitude toward former President Donald Trump, who took the time to visit the state. His visit “means so much to these people [in Georgia] right now,” he stated. “We need a boost. We need a shot in the arm. And with him coming down here and showing his support, that really helped.”

Ultimately, Perkins emphasized, the storm may pass away, but for those who are working to repair the damage, the road to “recovery is going to be years.” Carter agreed, explaining how beyond buildings, the “agriculture has been impacted by this,” which “is the number one industry in the state of Georgia. Our farmers are really going to suffer as a result of this.” And especially considering how urgently help from the government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is needed, both Carter and Perkins noted how much of a blessing it was that the government shutdown was avoided. “Can you imagine what the situation would be like today if the government had been shut down?” Perkins asked. To which Carter responded, “I cannot imagine.”

“Look,” he continued, “people are hurting right now, and … a government shutdown is just not good.” It would have made an already dire situation that much worse, considering Georgia and other states need the government’s funding “to help them get through.” Carter added, “I’m just so glad we’ve got it through December 20, and now we need to address it in the future.” Additionally, Perkins stated, the government needs “to get back to the regular order of passing appropriations bills.” However, for the time being, “Congress made the right move in making sure that government continued, especially when [we] knew that this storm was brewing out there in the Gulf” and “even another storm possibly coming” soon.

With plenty of work ahead, Perkins asked Carter what kind of help he and his state could use most. While Carter noted his great appreciation for the crucial assistance relief organizations are providing right now, he stated that what’s most important is prayer. “Please pray for all Georgians,” he requested. “Please, please pray for everyone who’s been impacted by this horrible, horrible storm.”

And in praying for Georgians, please include the lives of all those affected throughout Helene’s destructive path. In bleak moments of disaster, hope can be hard to find and almost impossible to hold onto. But in a world — a universe — ultimately under God’s sovereign care, may we remember that “weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5b). We may not understand why tragedies occur, but even in deepest pain, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 14:3).