Flood Relief: Missionaries and members serve European communities following Storm Boris

Devastating damage affected the lives of thousands as Storm Boris moved through central Europe in September 2024. Following heavy rains and flooding, missionaries and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started serving their communities: shoveling mud, clearing yards, cleaning homes and more.

In Romania, 5,000 households were directly affected by the floods and many families were forced to evacuate their homes. A group of 22 missionaries and members traveled to the small village of Cuza Voda to provide service. The mayor directed them to a street where homes had been submerged in up to four feet of muddy water. There the volunteers cleared an elderly woman’s home, removing mud and ruined furniture and scrubbing the floors until they revealed their original color.  

In the Czech Republic, students and advisors from the Cumorah Academy volunteered with local young adults and missionaries to clean up public grounds in Brantice after the country experienced some of its worst flooding in nearly three decades. Additionally, regional Church missionaries over welfare and self-reliance coordinated a humanitarian donation of hygiene products and cleaning supplies to an elderly care facility in Ostrava. This facility, operated by Caritas, had experienced flooding in the basement that damaged much of its existing supply of such materials.

In Slovakia the Church donated funds for the Red Cross to purchase 20 dehumidifiers which were distributed in the Bratislava region. The dehumidifiers, which went to local businesses and homes, will be retrieved and kept in storage for future use.

 In Austria, local members worked with the Red Cross, Team Austria, Caritas and others to provide service. All missionaries of the Church in these areas are safe, and any Church members whose homes were damaged received immediate help from priesthood leaders.