“We don’t have initial damage estimates yet but we know there are areas that will need World Renew’s help.”
Hurricane Irma claimed 47 lives as is tore through the Caribbean and north through Florida and Georgia. The damage from Hurricane Irma is so great that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has already approved more than $87 million in assistance programming throughout the state of Florida. According to the Governor’s office, more than 370,000 homes and business in Florida were still without power two weeks after the storm. FEMA reports that major to record river flooding is expected to continue this week.
“Organizations who specialize in mass care are still focusing on making sure that food and water are distributed in the areas of need, especially Miami-Dade, south of Jacksonville, south of Ft. Myers, and the Keys,” said Johnsons. “Power and phone service is slowly coming back, although some areas will be without power for up to two more weeks. Jacksonville has major flooding, and some of the counties south of Jacksonville are flooded in the same areas hit by Hurricane Matthew last year.”
The Johnsons are staying in touch with other response agencies and organizations to help coordinate response efforts after Irma. World Renew is connected at the state, federal, and local level in Florida to assist with disaster efforts there. It is crucial to work together when delivering services and meet the needs in the days, months, and years after a disaster such as Hurricane Irma.
There are several church congregations connected with World Renew that may have been affected by Irma in Florida. World Renew DRS is reaching out, as power and phones are restored, to find out how the churches have been affected and how World Renew can support them in their own recovery and in reaching out to help their community.
World Renew DRS will be responding to Hurricane Irma in Florida, and World Renew’s International Disaster Response Team is addressing Cuba, in partnership with the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC), a member of the ACTAlliance. For information regarding Cuba, see page three of this Background document.
Your generous support today will ensure that World Renew recovery efforts in response to these devastating storms can continue in the years ahead.
