Potentially catastrophic landfall conditions make community support vital
The Salvation Army is preparing resources and personnel to meet the immediate needs of survivors and first responders ahead of Hurricane Ian’s potentially historic landfall in Florida. Ian comes just days after Hurricane Fiona ravaged Puerto Rico, where The Salvation Army is still serving survivors and first responders.
Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm the night of Wednesday, Sept. 28, on the west coast of Florida. If Ian stays on its projected path, it will mark the first direct impact of a hurricane in the area since 1921. Main concerns include a heavy storm surge leading to severe flooding conditions along the coastline. With the entire state of Florida now under a state of emergency and about 1 million residents planning to evacuate ahead of landfall, The Salvation Army is positioning resources and personnel to respond to widespread needs as efficiently as possible.
A Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) team from Texas, including an Incident Management Team and six mobile feeding units, departed Arlington, Texas on Wednesday morning headed for Florida. The team will provide additional support and resources for the anticipated response effort. Mobile feeding units from Austin, Granbury, Irving, Houston, San Antonio, and Pasadena, each manned by trained Salvation Army disaster volunteers and Officers, are part of the initial response team from Texas.
“One of the major advantages of The Salvation Army’s structure is that we are able to mobilize resources and people very quickly in times of disaster to provide practical help and support where needed,” said Alvin Migues, EDS Director for The Salvation Army in Texas. “After Hurricane Harvey, more than 50 Salvation Army feeding units staffed by Officers and volunteers from literally around the country deployed to Houston and the surrounding areas. Our team is ready and prepared to be there with a hot meal, a cold drink, and a word of encouragement and a prayer for those impacted by Hurricane Ian in Florida.”
Disaster response updates can be found below:
Ian Prep/Initial Response:
• Nationally, The Salvation Army has as many as 37 mobile feeding units and one field kitchen ready to mobilize across the impacted area immediately after the worst effects of the storm are realized.
o Each unit can feed 500-1,500 people per day.
• The Salvation Army has also started to serve some of the predicted 1M evacuees at a few shelters in Florida.
• Two major warehouses in Tampa, Florida, and McDonough, Georgia, (near Atlanta) are being prepped with food, water, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, and anything else that will be needed by the thousands of people in the storm’s path.
The Salvation Army disaster personnel are also collaborating with federal, state, and local emergency management agencies and other social services organizations in both locations to monitor ongoing impacts and adapt response efforts, if necessary.
A digital media kit with current disaster assets can be found here.
For more information on The Salvation Army’s continued response, visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org.
To make a financial gift to support Hurricane relief efforts: • Donate online: www.HelpSalvationArmy.org.
• Donate by phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).
One-hundred percent of designated disaster donations go to direct services for survivors and first responders.
For more information on The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services, visit: www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org
About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for more than 130 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a broad array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar The Salvation Army spends is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org
