Disaster Response United States Project #57304

Hurricane Ian

by Disaster Aid USA Inc.

Project Report | Feb 28, 2023
Hurricane Ian Update

By Larry Agee | Co-Founder & Executive Director

DAUSA arrived the day after the storm and stayed through the end of the year, and recently went back in late Jan to check on certain neighborhoods and help the local Rotary district hand out 7000 sheets of drywall for free.

Our team leads trained local volunteers and Rotarians on proper Muck and Gut procedures and then trained some to be team leads. This allowed for 2 to 8 teams to be working in the field. Our chainsaw and backhoe teams worked the first 20 days doing at least 2 jobs a day.

DAUSA and the trained local teams leads thru Rotary, muck and gutted or help demo and moved valuables on over 300 homes. At an average retail cost of $10,000 if a contractor had been hired, we saved the survivors over 3 million dollars. The vast majority of the people we helped had no flood insurance. Most of the chainsaw and backhoe work would not have been covered even if the survivors had homeowners insurance.

The Rotary District 6960 signed an official MOU with DAUSA to keep response trailers and trained people ion the area and on call as a partnership for their community.

Hurricane IAN ws a huge response by DAUSA and we still have projects, including rebuild projects and grants to Churches, Rotary clubs, and community center with verified needs.

2 regular Volunteers doing a muck and gut job

DAUSA Board member Kelsey Mitchell @ work

Saved baby squirrel

DAUSA, Rotary and GEM working together

bathroom muck and gut

Links:

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Oct 31, 2022
Update on Ian Operations

By Larry Agee | Co-Founder & Executive Director

Backhoe Operator Tina Agee and "Fanta"

DAUSA LA and TX teams Arrived just a couple days after the storm passed with Backhoe & Chainsaw Teams, Rescue Boat, and Muck and Gut Crews. We had three trailer station in Florida on a permanent basis. The Central Florida team was busy for 2 1/2 weeks helping flood victims, rescuing survivors, and removing debris form roads and houses. Many did not here of the Central FL flooding problems but our team was there working hard everyday! The FL east coast team sent their 2 trailers to Ft Myers within the first week to be used by Rotary clubs and the Rotary District Disaster Committee. The Rotary District 6960 Gov. Nominee (Kelsey Mitchell) opened up her house and other Rotarians did also for our teams!

In the Ft Myers area the backhoe and chainsaw teams immediately started working in the Harlem Heights a community where many do not have insurance, basing operations in their community center. The staff welcomed DAUSA and put us to work helping their neighbors, removing trees off houses and roads. The muck and gut team started in another community helping elderly residents and then moved to Harlem Heights also as the community is close to the land fall area and went under water. Our CA and MO teams showed up who have extensive Muck and Gut experience in Non profit and retired from 30 years of private restoration work. A week later Idaho Team showed to join the effort.

Working with the local Rotary district we started training their Team Captains in Muck and Gut procedures and then sent them back to their communities of Englewood, Port Charlotte North Port Etc. to manage Volunteers there. By doing this we became a force multiplier for the Rotarians and the community. Many days we had 5 separate communities having teams working in them.

The Backhoe and Chainsaw teams, teamed up with a local church. We had met them working on a house in Harlem Heights, and they called for help with a number of their elderly members and work on 2 churches that were serving their communities. They had distribution point setup and were cooking meals for the community.

By Working closely with the Rotary District (a community Service Org) and local Churches we tapped into community institutional knowledge and hit the ground running not spending a week figuring out where to work or base out of.

We continue to work with both, as we have muck and gut team rotating in throughout the rest of the year and the chainsaw team is headed back in Nov after a short break.

When the recovery phase is over we will send our rebuild teams in to help the survivors who fall through the cracks of FEMA and insurance or get no assistance at all (yes that does happen). DAUSA will helping this community long term and we appreciate your continued donation to keep our teams in the field

Clearing paths through downed trees

downed trees around home

Chainsawing trees

volunteers

downed tree on power pole to house

afte, cleared tree now power co. can connect power

DAUSA DART

taking trees off houses

All Ages helping

gutting a house

gutting a house 2

coming down off roof

volunteers

gutting house 3

contrast Beauty and Destruction

Miltary supply drops

volunteers

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