Parts of the Caribbean are bracing for the impact of Hurricane Matthew, and that has New Yorkers with ties to the area worried about loved ones that could be in harm's way. NY1's Lori Chung filed the following report.
As Hurricane Matthew bears down on Haiti, those with loved ones in the country call on their faith to ease their worries.
"We prayed for Haiti last night. We'll pray for Haiti again tonight. We're all concerned," said the Rev. Sam Nicholas of the Evangelical Crusade Christian Church.
The congregation at Evangelical Crusade Christian Church, like others in New York with family in the projected path of the storm, urged relatives to take precautions.
"I say to them, you know, we have to find a safe place to go, and then take advice from the government in case they tell you where to go, you have to go," said one member of the congregation.
In Port-au-Prince, Red Cross volunteers tried to convince people to evacuate, a message echoed by Radio Soleil in Brooklyn.
"We're talking about a category 4 hurricane. Haiti doesn't have the infrastructure to withstand anything of this type of this magnitude," said Ricot Dupuy, station manager at Radio Soleil. "People are still feeling the impact of the 2010 earthquake."
Memories of that earthquake's devastation are still fresh for Rigaud Dessources.
"It was a bad, bad, bad experience for me," he said. "I spent five hours under the rubble. My house fell down on me."
He says faith was the key to his survival. He is relying on it again for those now in harm's way.
"The only thing we can do is praying for Haiti," Dessources said.
Given past hurricanes and other disasters, the pastor at Evangelical Crusade Christian Church says they have a mobilization plan in place with other groups in Haiti to get aid to people in need in times of crisis.