By Kate Bickford | Development Director
On August 29th, Hurricane Ida made landfall in southern Louisiana as a Category 4 storm, making it the 5th strongest hurricane to hit the USA on record. Heavy rainfall, 150 mph winds, and severe flooding caused over one million people to lose power. To make matters worse, Ida shut down several oil refineries off the Gulf of Mexico, causing gas prices to soar. The fuel shortage hindered rescue and response efforts and made it difficult for those still affected by power outages to access fuel for their generators and vehicles. As the heat index surpassed 100 degrees, many drove hours in search of open gas stations, waiting in long lines to fill up their gas cans so they could power their generators and cool their homes.
As Ida approached the coast, FRF was preparing to deploy a team of volunteer emergency responders to assist with relief efforts. Volunteers from around the country met in Houma, Louisiana to begin assessing the damage, working with local partners to identify the hardest-hit areas and make arrangements to begin distribution to beneficiaries.
Over the last week, FRF has focused its efforts in Terrebone and Lafourche Parishes, where over 70,000 are still without power. In Houma, FRF provided 400 gallons of fuel to more than a dozen nonprofit organizations. This fuel was used to power search and rescue missions and to provide hot meals, water, diapers, and other necessities to residents in need.
FRF volunteers also headed out to the heavily impacted community of Golden Meadow, where they have distributed hundreds of gallons of gas to residents who are currently relying on generators to charge phones, power medical equipment, and refrigerate food. “I can’t tell you what this means to us”, said one beneficiary. “Without electricity, it has just been awful. The gas that you’ve given us operates our generators...we really appreciate it. Thank you so much.”
To date, FRF has provided nearly 12,000 gallons of free fuel to the public, first responders, and NGOs, benefiting over 10,000 people. As 300,000 people in southern Louisiana head into their tenth day without power, Fuel Relief Fund is hard at work delivering desperately needed fuel to the communities most affected by Hurricane Ida.
To view photos and videos from the team on the ground and see your donor dollars at work, follow us on social media and check out our live deployment tracker.
As always, thank you for your continued support.
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