PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Mercy Chefs, a Portsmouth-based disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, has responded to the catastrophic flooding in Kerr County, Texas.

With just hours of warning, flash floods brought terror onto the landscape of Kerr County on Friday. Rescue crews spent the weekend pouring through the wreckage.

Dozens of people are known to be dead, including several children. Many were staying at the now destroyed Camp Mystic. Amid the chaos, hometown help set up shop in the Lone Star state.

The nonprofit served hundreds of meals to victims, first responders and search-and-rescue crews Saturday evening.

“Our team will do anything they have to do to get the job done, regardless of the numbers,” said Gary LeBlanc, founder of Mercy Chefs.

The Portsmouth-based organization is there to serve hot meals to victims, volunteers and first responders. They are expecting to serve between three and four-thousand people on Sunday alone, but say they can do even more. LeBlanc said the devastation there is unimaginable, with the Guadalupe River rising by at least 25 feet.

“Rivers in these sorts of events are full of debris,” he described. “They’re full of cars, they’re full of trees, they’re full of parts of home. Here, they were full of barbed wire, and fences, and unfortunately, the rivers were also full of people that were trying to navigate that. You can see the debris lines along the riverbanks. You can look up 20 to 25 feet and see where the debris was wedged into trees.”

The organization is partnering with local churches to establish public meal pickup locations.

“The devastation unfolding in Kerr County is truly heartbreaking. Our prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones and with those still waiting for word on the missing,” said LeBlanc. “Flash flooding has overwhelmed communities across central Texas. Our team is on the ground bringing hot meals and comfort to those who are suffering.”

Some of the organization’s team members live and work nearby in Wimberly, Texas. Several joined Mercy Chefs following devastating flooding in Wimberly in 2015.

“This is one of the many reasons why Mercy Chefs is able to get meals out so quickly to people in need,” said LeBlanc. “Our team quickly mobilized and started cooking. Another reason is our chefs’ incredible heart to serve their neighbors.” 

As the search for survivors gets more bleak, they hope to provide some sense of comfort.

“We think a high-quality, hand-crafted chef prepared meal can bring hope, can bring comfort in a moment of tragedy,” LeBlanc said.

On Monday, 10 On Your Side spoke with former WAVY News anchor and current Mercy Chefs spokesperson Amy Avery. She said the mission quickly became personal for several people on the team.

“One of our chefs, she was a counselor at one of the camps that was impacted for seven years. She was very emotional as anyone would understand,” Avery said.

Despite the circumstances, Avery said the woman, who is a baker, stepped right into her role and did her best to deliver each meal with a smile, hoping to deliver a little bit of hope with it as well.

Mercy Chefs is still active in western North Carolina feeding Helene survivors. Their ability to help others comes from the heart, but their knowledge of how to spend a dollar to best feed survivors of natural disasters is what helps keep their mission afloat.

They post videos on Facebook showing exactly where donations go and how many people they’re helping.

“Being able to know your dollar is going to help someone impacted it really makes it all truly worth it,” Avery said.

If you’d like to help Mercy Chefs continue to feed those in need, click here. Mercy Chefs has served more than 30 million meals since its founding in 2006 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.