FLORIDA HURRICANE RECOVERY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2019
TOTAL PROGRAM IMPACT
813 464
Current Activities LIVES IMPACTED VOLUNTEERS
5,042
VOLUNTEER DAYS
308
JOBS COMPLETED
We are committed to the long-term recovery efforts in Florida through December 2019. We continue to provide assistance to homeowners in Bay County, filling the immediate and unmet needs of those still struggling to recover. Nearly 11 months since Michael hit and the team continues to find homeowners who have received little to no assistance. We will complete response work (mucking, gutting, debris removal, mold sanitation) until the need is no longer present. In July, our Hurricane Michael program officially transitioned into the recovery phase. At which point, our scope expanded to include a variety of interior home rebuild and repairs. So far, the team has completed 3 rebuild sites!
Homeowner Highlight Like a number of his neighbors, Charles Roberts opted to ride out Hurricane Michael from his home last fall. In fact, nearly 50% of residents within the evacuation zone were estimated to have stayed, as the hurricane tore through Bay County. Charles recounts his experience: “It was raining, I mean it was coming down! Then the ceiling started falling in on top of us, so I managed to get a chair and slide it under the doorknob to hold the door shut. Grabbed the two dogs and got them to the bedroom. There was a big limb sticking through the roof of the bedroom. What was left of the roof. And that’s where we rode the rest of it out.” Our team began rebuilding Charles’ house August 15, 2019. Every day we begin work, he exclaims how thankful he is for the volunteers who are helping his house become whole again. Charles and the team working on his home are pictured on theLearn top ofabout page 2.our programs at
allhandsandhearts.org
Disaster Profile On October 10, 2018 Hurricane Michael slammed into Mexico Beach, Florida as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 160 mph. With record-breaking wind speeds, Michael is both the strongest storm to make landfall in the continental US (since Hurricane Andrew in 1992) and to ever hit the Florida Panhandle. Tracking across the Southeastern United States, winds plunged 1.4 million residents into complete darkness in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas. Communities across the region are devastated and multiple towns in the Panhandle are destroyed beyond recognition.
Our Work Thanks to the crucial support of our partners, donors, local community and volunteers from all over the world, we have run impactful program in Florida since October 2018. Assessing the immense and widespread destruction of the storm, our team initially identified a need for tree work, debris removal, mucking and gutting and mold sanitation. Based on the high needs still present in Bay County, the decision was made to extend and expand the program into recovery through December 2019.
About All Hands and Hearts We effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure. We have been awarded a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator five years in a row, placing us in the top 10% of all non-profits evaluated for financial and operational efficiency.
Our Partners in Florida
info@allhandsandhearts.org (508) 758-8211