Over 100,000 Florida residents have received evacuation orders and nearly four million are in the storm’s path. Michael is the strongest hurricane to hit the Florida Gulf Coast and Big Bend in decades.

World Renew is accepting donations to respond to Michael. 

Regional Managers for the southeastern U.S. from World Renew’s Disaster Response Services (DRS) have begun preparations for a response to the storm. They and World Renew DRS staff are collaborating with government and other non-profit organizations to plan for the possible launch of early assessment and rapid response teams into the damage areas as soon as they are accessible.

World Renew DRS provides volunteer labor and free recovery services in communities that are effected by natural disaster in the U.S. and Canada. World Renew prioritizes assisting disaster survivors who may “fall through the cracks” in these communities, such as the elderly, people who live below the poverty line, people with disabilities, and homeowners without insurance or in other circumstances that prevent them from recovering on their own.

World Renew DRS manages approximately 3,000 trained volunteers and is currently active in responding to Hurricane Florence last month, hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, as well as wildfires on the West Coast and damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in Tarboro, North Carolina, in 2016.

This week, World Renew DRS is beginning a response in the Carolinas to September’s catastrophic rain and flood damage from Hurricane Florence. The first volunteer team to begin providing clean up and mucking out services to homeowners affected by Florence arrives in New Bern, North Carolina, on Saturday, October 13, 2018. More rain is expected from Michael the Carolinas this week, where the already saturated ground may put clean up efforts there on hold.

To support World Renew DRS in responding to the needs of people affected by Hurricane Michael, donate online.

Checks marked “Hurricane Michael” can be mailed to:

World Renew Canada
3475 Mainway
STN LCD 1
Burlington, ON L7R 3Y8
or call (800) 730-3490

World Renew US
1700 28th St SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
or call (800) 552-7972

For more information or to arrange an interview, Members of the Press can contact: Kellie Scholma, World Renew DRS Communications Manager, at [email protected]; or Beth DeGraff, U.S. Media Contact at [email protected].

 

PHOTO TOP: National Hurricane Center ‏ @NHC_Atlantic A Facebook Live broadcast will take place at 2:20 p.m. EDT (1:20 CDT) with NHC director Ken Graham, providing an update on Hurricane #Michael  http://www.facebook.com/NWSNHC