MU-1 Responds to Thousand-Year Flooding In South Carolina – October 2015

On October 8^th, 2015, the ToolBank Disaster Services MU-1 mobile unit was requested by two of our member agencies, Team Rubicon and All Hands & Hearts, to respond to flooding in South Carolina in early October.

The mobile was deployed and stationed at Team Rubicon’s base camp in Columbia, SC. From this station, ToolBank Disaster Services equipped multiple organizations across the state.

This is the 5^th disaster deployment detail I am posting as part of my “Lace Up Like It’s 1995!” campaign. To support our work in diverse disasters across the country, click here!

1-in-1000 Years Event:

From September 29th to October 7th, several southeastern states were hit with record-breaking rain that caused massive flooding and was considered a thousand-year event.  While several states were impacted by the storm, South Carolina was hit the hardest. Throughout the state, over 69,000 homes were damaged or destroyed and at least 19 people died from storm-caused incidents.

Partners:

ToolBank Disaster Services partnered with several member agencies that led teams comprised of organizations and spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers (SUVs) in the field.  Each team had an assigned team leader who placed tool orders for the day or week.  Groups that borrowed tools include:

• All Hands & Hearts
• The Dogwood Foundation
• Hearts & Hands
• IsraAID
• Information Technology Disaster Resource Center
• Mennonite Disaster Services
• NECHAMA
• Operation Blessing
• Reach Out World Wide
• Team Rubicon
• The Home Depot
• The Mission Continues
• United Methodist Committee on Relief
• University of South Carolina

Over the 23-day deployment, ToolBank Disaster Services equipped nearly 1,300 volunteers who helped hundreds of homeowners across six counties in South Carolina. ToolBank tools were used for debris removal, gutting homes, demolition, and a few rapid repairs. The total value of tools borrowed for this deployment was $115,313, marking the largest amount of tools lent for the mobile response service to that point.

This flood event also marked the first deployment in which ToolBank tools were spread out across an entire state. Based on partnerships forged in more than a year of prior deployments, this indicated that our recognition and reach in the disaster service space were increasing, allowing us to serve more organizations with our trusted resource.