NEW ORLEANS —

Matthew 25: Ministries is no stranger to natural disasters.

The group has deployed teams and resources all over the country to assist recovery efforts. Cincinnatians are still on the ground in Louisiana helping to ease some of the burdens.

The post-Ida images are devastating.

Power outages and flooding make it difficult for even simple pleasures like clean clothes.

Matthew 25: Ministries is helping to provide.

"Washing clothes for people, distributing supplies like personal care items, cleaning supplies, tarps, batteries, water. Just those things that people need so badly right now," said Matthew 25: Ministries Dir. of Disaster Relief Ben Williams.

For two weeks, the team of nine has traveled all over Louisiana to hurricane-ravaged towns.

It's not their first time heading into the mess.

For many living down there, this isn't their first experience with similar damage.

"This is a extremely devastating storm. The effects are widespread. Our team has been all throughout Louisiana's southern parts and the needs are incredible in those areas," Williams said.

It all starts with support from home.

The donors and volunteers who make responding to disasters possible and that is felt from hundreds of miles away.

"They can't believe that someone from Cincinnati, Ohio came down to help them. And again, our team is just kind of the hands and feet of that. There's so many people that care about those people in those areas," Williams said.

Though the work is hard and the physical, emotional and mental toll great, this team knows they're making a difference.

"When we come back we know we've helped a lot of people in need and that's encouraging," Williams said.

Williams said there's no timetable for the team's return.

He said even once they leave Louisiana, they will continue to provide support by sending supplies.

When a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit southwest Haiti over the weekend, it wasn't long before one Tri-State organization got to work.

"No matter the need, anywhere in the world, here in Cincinnati Greater Cincinnati area or throughout the United States, Cincinnati is always one of the first to always lend a hand," said Tim Mettey, CEO of Blue Ash-based Matthew 25: Ministries. "I think that's such an important thing is that, you know, we're showing them that people care about them."

The organization sent a medical team and relief supplies such as soap, toilet paper, bottled water and other personal care items to help support the survivors living through the earthquake's aftermath.

Dr. Jana Houser, associate professor of meteorology at Ohio University, described the damage wrought by an earthquake of that magnitude as "substantial."

"That has the equivalent of about 20 billion kilograms of dynamite, so that is a lot of energy," she said. "Energy like that is going to level homes, is going to bring large buildings down to rubble, and basically anything except for the most reinforced, well-designed earthquake-proof buildings are going to experience substantial structural issues."

Posing an additional challenge to relief efforts is the looming tropical depression Grace, expected to hit Haiti with torrential rains in the coming days.

"Unfortunately, it looks like that really torrential rain is going to go right over the epicenter there," Houser said. "So you're going to potentially see issues with flooding, with mudslides and all of these types of related phenomena that go along with that, which is really gonna, unfortunately, complicate the response efforts."

Those conditions have Metty preparing for a long recovery period for the area.

"A lot of the areas have been devastated, destroyed. Most of the streets are impassable right now," he said. "And, you know, a lot of the clinics and hospitals have been destroyed. So the ones that are still standing, they're overwhelmed with people; they can't, they didn't have many of the supplies before, to help their normal population, so now it's constrained even worse."

Those interested in supporting Matthew 25: Ministries relief efforts in Haiti can do so on their website.