Hurricane Florence First Response and Flood Relief

Our current analysis of the areas hit by Hurricane Florence is as such:

Impassable road numbers are diminishing daily, but at a very slow rate. 

As many open, many still seem to be closing. (See attached article).

Rescue efforts now account over 5,000 and some counties are still in grey areas as waters push more inland.

We have decided to make our next mission a combined mission: take take needed supplies, in tractor trailer trucks, to those who have been rescued and stabilized in evacuation shelters and to also take light rescue gear to help with rescues in perimeter searches, which we pray are in shallow waters and in time.

These would take place in counties, towns and cities west of Wilmington.

Our goal is to have corporations donate so that we can buy such items as needed (dry goods, non perishables, towels, blankets, diapers, hygienes and soaps, light jackets) to distribute to the mass number of displaced where we can reach them in communities previously accounted for as rescues complete and then into counties where rescues continue and evacuees are stabilized in temporary shelters.

This mission, we believe, will be ongoing into the November holidays of Veterans Day and more than likely into Thanksgiving.

Links:

• State of address update

For the most part, rescue operations are down across the state (coast).

Last night all operations were handled by Coast Guard and state assigned teams, which left us on standby in that arena, however, we were still going to now familiar neighborhoods and homes to check on water levels. Many areas are still without clean water and rivers and streams are still rising: leaving many roads closed and more homes in danger in areas that were originally spared.

The decline in activity today (with rescue) aligns us with the new overall point of focus on recovery.

After witnessing for the past week and two days, the losses of so many, we have to believe that operations in cleaning, clothing and feeding should become the primary focus of our families and friends now labled as evacuees.

Food is to a degree scarce for many areas. Claims still need to be filed and shelter is not secure. However, we would like our team to be able to focused on cleaning the homes and structures that can be salvaged and put back into as close a functional state as possible.

That entails a boots on the ground effort of going door to door, and where home and business owners are willing: allowing us to assist in removing garbage, wreckage and hazards so that contractors (once approved) can go to work in restabilizing and the risks of mold and other pathogens decrease (which at the present stage are increasing due to the inaccessability of health organizations to many structures).

We also now want to focus on getting evacuees food and clothing. Many lost everything and some will now face the same fate as new hazards present themselves.

We have small entities gathering as much as they can to help, which we are eternally grateful for, but we need corporations to assist as well.

That being said: as of 12 noon today, we have decided to take a couple of days off to relax (back at our homes in Charlotte and surrounding areas), regroup and rejuvenate as we plan for the next mission. We've had an amazing 9-day 1st operation and now we believe we need to be in pre-planning for an additional two weeks once partnerships and funding opportunities are acquired, as well as additional supplies, to assist our fellow North Carolinians. 

This will also give some of our guys time to work some of their own trades and jobs back at home to raise money to pay for individual needs during the next mission such as hotels (where and if we can find them) as we are volunteers and not contractors.

Prayerfully as well, we will not be sleeping in our vehicles this go-round and can impact more people directly with needed supplies.

Overall, estimates are that it will take until November to stabilize many families and businesses: enough to last them until more permanent measures are available in the Spring.

Links:

• Recent update from the governor (22 SEP 18)