ToolBank Disaster Services to deploy resources to area impacted by Hurricane Ida
UPDATE: (September 13, 2021)
ToolBank Disaster Services Program Manager, Bill Hess, has been working with our partners on the ground in Houma, LA. The Cajun Navy Ground Forces have been showing off all of our tools and equipment needed for disaster recovery and clean up. Check out Bill’s video below and the images of Team Rubicon using our tools and equipment in the field.
UPDATE: (September 8, 2021)
ToolBank Disaster Services Program Manager, Bill Hess, arrived in Houma, LA on Sunday, September 5. He’s working with our partners at Team Rubicon and Operation Blessing to distribute out tools and PPE. We have muck and gut kits ready for when the volunteer groups need them. ToolBank USA has also deployed a trailer stocked with PPE that includes: N95 masks, latex gloves, rubber gloves, cloth work gloves, ear plugs, disposable aprons, hand sanitizer, protective eyewear, and much more to aid in the disaster relief efforts. Bill shared with our ToolBank team that the devastation in Hammond and Houma, LA had a strikingly similar resemblance to that of Hurricane Michael in Panama City.
Atlanta, GA (August 31, 2021) – Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana’s Port Fourchon on Sunday as a Category 4 storm with wind speeds of 150 miles an hour and one to two inches of rain an hour. Its winds tie it as the fifth strongest storm to hit the U.S. mainland. Such heavy winds and precipitation will inevitably cause flooding and damage many homes and buildings.
ToolBank Disaster Services (TDS) has been prepping our mobile units for deployment as soon as it is safe to enter the impacted region. Multiple trailers have been outfitted with tools and PPE to assist in the cleanup efforts. TDS will be working with national partners and our other community-based partners that have already arrived in Louisiana and are currently assessing the needs.
Bill Hess, TDS Program Manager, will be deploying to the impacted area to help make assessments. Our team currently doesn’t have a timeframe for the length of our deployment. This could be an ongoing project involving a lengthy rebuild based on the level of devastation to the region.
Thank you to our Partners
ToolBank USA would like to thank our national partners: UPS, Stanley Black & Decker, The Home Depot Foundation, and Ford. Airbnb has also kindly contributed funding for housing accommodations during our TDS deployment operations. Without their continued financial and in-kind support, ToolBank Disaster Services would not be able to assist in these types of disaster relief and rebuild efforts.
We will be providing updates over the next few days and weeks regarding our efforts in the Port Fourchon and surrounding areas.
If you would like to help with our ToolBank Disaster Services response to Hurricane Ida, please donate now. Your donation helps off-set our deployment costs so that we can get the proper tools into the hands of volunteers working diligently to return residents to their homes.
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ToolBank USA is a national nonprofit organization charged with the replication and advancement of ToolBanks across the country. ToolBank USA facilitates a significant portion of the ‘back room’ administration for its affiliates, to allow local ToolBank staff to focus on customer service and program excellence. ToolBank USA uses the power of the strong and growing national ToolBank brand to leverage resources for its affiliates, and is the official knowledge base of the ToolBank, collecting and sharing best practices from around the ToolBank network.
Media Contact:
Trey Bearden
ToolBank USA | Chief Program Officer
Email: trey.bearden@toolbank.org
