By: Dan Childs

More than 70 Salvation Army mobile feeding units were in action after Hurricane Matthew swept up the southeastern coast of the U.S. on October's second weekend.

Salvation Army disaster personnel working in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina served more than 50,000 meals, 45,000 drinks and 32,000 snacks by Oct. 10. In addition, 673 persons were given shelter and 838 persons received emotional and spiritual care.

In the Florida Division, 30 Salvation Army canteens were deployed to provide food and hydration to residents and emergency workers. Joining the canteens from across the Florida Division were six from the Alabama-Louisiana-Mississippi Division.

In Georgia, 18 mobile feeding units were in service across the state. Most units were deployed along the Georgia coast; others were operating in Savannah, Brunswick and St. Mary's. A field kitchen from the Texas Division was dispatched to Georgia as well, along with an additional canteen from ALM. Local Salvation Army disaster teams provided meals and drinks at evacuation shelters, emergency operations centers and workforce staging areas.

Twenty-six mobile feeding units were positioned in North and South Carolina when the storm made landfall. In addition to canteens from the North-South Carolina Division were units from the Kentucky-Tennessee and Maryland-West Virginia divisions.

In South Carolina, Army disaster personnel provided mass feeding support in Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Beaufort, Georgetown, Williamsburg, Orangeburg, Clarendon, Barnwell and Sumter counties and to emergency and rescue crews staged along Interstate 26.

In eastern North Carolina, flooding was widespread as many rivers in that area topped their banks. More than 1,000 people across the state were rescued and more than 3,000 people were staying in shelters. In both North and South Carolina, an estimated 1 million people were without power.

In ALM, Salvation Army disaster personnel provided support at an emergency evacuation shelter in Dothan, Alabama, and coordinated the delivery of meals. Also, Salvation Army liaisons were dispatched to state emergency operations centers in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and the national and regional centers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia. The Army also staffed many county EOCs in the affected states.

The Salvation Army needs financial support for its emergency response effort. Donations may be given in the following ways:

Online: http://give.salvationarmyusa.org/hurricane_matthew

Mail: The Salvation Army, PO Box 1959, Atlanta, GA 30301, Please designate HURRICANE MATTHEW on checks

Phone: 1-800-SAL ARMY (1-800-725-2769)

Text: Text STORM to 51555 to receive a donation link

• To support The Salvation Army's hurricane relief efforts in Haiti and the Caribbean, financial gifts may be made at salar.my/Matthew.