The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was among the top 10 most active seasons on record with five major (Category 3 or stronger) hurricanes formed. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, all Category 4, made landfall in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands in less than a month, killing more than 200 people and causing billions in damages. Each hurricane presented different threats and challenges: Harvey brought extensive flooding; Irma devastating storm surges; and Maria catastrophic high winds. The deadly wildfires that devastated Northern California killed 42 people, forced residents to evacuate their homes and destroyed more than 8,000 structures. Beyond the immediate impact of the loss of life, destruction of homes and property, and the psychological and spiritual effects, the path to recovery will be a long and difficult process for many. The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services was there to provide practical, emotional and spiritual support throughout the immediate response for each of these disasters. Even while operations were underway in their own territories, Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) personnel across the United States and Canada, mobilized and deployed to provide relief to other affected USA territories. The Central Territory alone deployed 97 relief workers by mid-September. Currently, EDS has transitioned from response to help survivors and communities on their long road to recovery. This EDS Action Update issue highlights some of our efforts to serve survivors and first responders and the support of our partners that made it possible. |  General André Cox, encourages EDS Personnel | | As relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey continued across Southeast Texas, the international leader of The Salvation Army, General André Cox, visited Houston. General Cox spent the day meeting with The Salvation Army leadership team, visiting with survivors, and encouraging Salvation Army officers, staff and volunteers involved in the response efforts. As teams prepared to depart and provide meals, cleanup kits and food boxes to neighborhoods throughout Houston, General Cox talked with crews and thanked them for their faithful and tireless service. The General also saw staff on the field kitchen in action as they prepared food for the day. The sight was impressive, as the unit had the capacity to provide 15,000 meals daily. Later, as food boxes and supplies were distributed to grateful survivors, General Cox spoke to residents and gave them the assurance that, “God loves you, The Salvation Army loves you, and we will be here to help.” Adapted from a press release by the Southern Territory. | | Commissioner David Hudson Visits the White House | Commissioner David Hudson, along with Ms. Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross, and Dr. Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board representing Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, was invited to a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on September 1, 2017. President Trump thanked non-voluntary organizations for all their work and support of disaster survivors. Commissioner Hudson expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to partner with the White House and Voluntary Agencies Active in Disasters (VOADs) and pledged The Salvation Army's ongoing support of recovery efforts. |  Commissioner David Hudson at the White House (Source: My Daily Dayton News) | | | Hurricane Harvey Highlight |  Salvation Army team prays with survivors. | Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a historic Category 4 hurricane in Rockport southeast Texas on the evening of August 25th. Lingering for days as a tropical storm, Harvey was still a named storm a record 117 hours after landfall. Because of its slow movement, Harvey dumped a catastrophic 40 - 61 inches of rainfall in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas. The widespread flooding triggered thousands of water rescues, destroyed homes and businesses, roadways, and electricity and water services. The Southern Territory began holding situational awareness calls and pre-staging assets for mobilization days before landfall. On August 26th, one of The Salvation Army’s largest response efforts got underway. Relief efforts spanned Houston, Victoria, Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange, Corpus Christi, Dallas Fort Worth, Freeport, Galveston covering more than 20 counties along the coast of Texas. Service delivery was rendered in neighborhoods, eight shelters including the Dallas and Forth Worth mega shelters, and The Salvation Army local corps. Relief was also provided in neighboring Louisiana. At the height of the response, more than 96 mobile feeding units (canteens) were operational; 3,821 persons sheltered; 920,000 meals served; and EDS personnel, officers, and volunteers logged more than 415,000 hours of service. Statistics
Meals: 907,162
Drinks: 979,836
Snacks: 966,346
Food Boxes: 21,282
Mobile Feeding Units (canteens): 96 at peak
Field Kitchens: 3 at peak
Persons Sheltered: 3,821
Emotional and Spiritual Care contacts: 57,068
Cleanup Kits: 12,274
Comfort Kits: 52,155
Hours of Employee and Volunteer service: 415,630 |  Volunteer Serves a survivor at a local shelter. | The impact of Hurricane Irma was felt across the state of Florida and significantly so in the Keys. More than 6 million people were without power following the storm that killed 69 people. Irma was the strongest landfall near Key West in 57 years. The Florida Keys were compared to a war zone as homes, businesses, and highways were leveled. Route 1, the only road in and out of the Keys, was inaccessible due to debris and destructions. Coupled with Route 1 being inaccessible, necessary bridge inspections prior to reentry delayed disaster crews from assessing areas for service delivery, hindered the movement of assets, and prevented residents from getting back home. FEMA estimated that 25% of homes were destroyed and 65% sustained major damage in the Keys. The Salvation Army Southern Territory seamlessly shifted to its second major response, the largest for the Florida division, within days. Personnel and assets deployed to Texas were repositioned to Florida and reinforcements from other territories were mobilized. EDS personnel were among the first to provide life-sustaining sustenance. Major relief operations were launched in the Keys, Fort Myers, Miami, Naples, Northeast Florida, and Sebring. Georgia didn't escape Irma wrath; disaster teams were mobilized to provide service delivery in Brunswick, Savannah and St. Mary's. As communities begin to recover, the Salvation Army has pledged its support in the months ahead. Statistics
Meals: 365,667
Snacks: 339,628
Drinks: 534,900
Food Boxes: 17,208
Mobile Feeding Units: 61 at peak
Field Kitchens: 1
Persons Sheltered: 5,633
Emotional and Spiritual Care Contacts: 28,172
Cleanup Kits: 2,374
Comfort Kits: 9,735
Hours of Employee and Volunteer Service: 269,889 |  Survivors visit “El Comedor del Salvation Army de San Juan” | | Only two weeks after Hurricane Irma (Category 4) skirted the island, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as a powerful Category 4 storm. Parts of Puerto Rico saw 30 inches of rain in a single day. The storm decimated the island’s major infrastructure – the entire power grid, communication infrastructure, and severely damaging hospitals, dams, ports, airports and other critical facilities. With a permanent footprint in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, The Salvation Army quickly mobilized and served survivors in the impacted communities. In partnership with local and federal partners, The Salvation Army provided an average of 8,000 meals a day, water and emotional and spiritual care in San Juan, Loiza, Fajardo, Humacao, Guayama, Ponce, Arecibo, Mayaguez, Bayamon, Penuelas, and Caguas, running FEMA "Fire Missions"
to areas that were cut off from under-served and cut-off areas of the islands. In addition to feeding from fixed-sites, EDS personnel are distributing food and hygiene boxes, bottled water and cleanup kits to remote to at-risk areas. The Salvation Army continues to serve Puerto Rican evacuees arriving at the Miami International and Orlando International airports, in Chicago and other metropolitan cities, through the distribution of hygiene items, baby supplies, emotional and spiritual care and clothing vouchers. More than a month after landfall, the Eastern Territory is still mobilizing Incident Management Teams to support the ongoing operation, focusing on remote areas of the island. In partnership with the Dutch Reformed Church,1,500 meals a day were served in St. Thomas. Additionally, the Salvation Army was the first agency to serve on Culebra, an island off Puerto Rico. The Salvation Army partnered with FEMA to distribute food boxes in St. Croix. Operations in USVI have been handed over to the local corps. Statistics
Meals, Drinks, Snacks: 1,713,781
Food Boxes: 84,071
Bottles of Water: 135,100
Ice Bags: 39,341
Articles of Clothing: 94,363
Emotional & Spiritual Care Contacts: 45,994
Cleanup Kits: 1,335
Comfort Kits: 16,960
Hours of Employee & Volunteer Service: 45,341 |  Bill Feist, National SATERN Liaison | | NHQ SATERN – Communications failure occasionally occurs during major disasters. When that happens, Amateur Radio operators provide a lifeline between disaster survivors and the outside world. During the 2017 Hurricane Season, SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network) did just that. In three activations over a 31 day period, SATERN activated 1,450 stations that handled and delivered nearly two hundred from hurricane impacted areas. One operator even had the opportunity to deliver a birth announcement from Puerto Rico. SATERN also supported 20 radio operators deployed by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) in support of the American Red Cross in Puerto Rico. SATERN operator Joe Bassett (W1WCN) was a part of that deployment. Bassett said, “Even before radio assistance arrived in Puerto Rico, SATERN members were bringing aid and comfort to those affected by this tragedy. It was a comfort to me specifically, when in the early days of the deployment, I could check into the SATERN net, knowing that dedicated amateurs were ready to assist.” SATERN teams were also put on deployment standby; once for Florida and later for Puerto Rico but neither team was deployed. Basset later said, “The work done by amateur radio operators in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria exemplifies the best ham radio has to offer ‘When All Else Fails’.” |  Salvation Army canteen serves hot meals to survivors | During the height of response efforts, The Salvation Army served evacuees and first responders at nearly a dozen evacuation sites in Santa Rosa, Napa, Grass Valley and Solana and Butte counties. Teams distributed gift cards, food items, vouchers to thrift stores, as well as Christmas signups for survivors in the hardest hit community of Bangor. More than 25,000 people were under mandatory evacuations over several counties in Northern California and left with few possessions, thus relying on The Salvation Army and other relief agencies. EDS personnel are now focusing their efforts on providing meals and emotional and spiritual care to residents entering repopulated areas and remain committed to providing services as needed. Statistics
Meals: 86,048
Snacks: 145,477
Drinks: 101,179
Gift Cards: $80,000 |  Flo Knox, NHQ EDS Director, and Vice President Mike Pence |  Lt. Col. Ron Busroe, National Headquarters Community Relations & Development Secretary, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions | | | The National Response Coordination Center (NRCC), located at FEMA headquarters in Washington D.C., is a multi-agency center that coordinates the overall Federal support for major incidents and emergencies and consists of FEMA personnel, appropriate Emergency Support Functions from various federal agencies, and voluntary agencies. The Salvation Army typically has national representation at the NRCC for Level 1 and 2 activation. Flo Walker Knox, NHQ EDS Director, and Tameka Sharp, Government Relations Program Specialist, were deployed to the NRCC for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria response for 56 days, the longest NRCC activation on record. As NRCC Liaisons, NHQ personnel represent The Salvation Army, collaborate and coordinate efforts to meet needs that help save and sustain lives. The role of liaisons largely involve the sharing of information on our capacity and passing along situational awareness to Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services leadership. Commissioner David Hudson, National Chief Secretary Colonel Jeffery Smith, and National Headquarters Community Relations and Development Secretary Lt. Colonel Ron Busroe also attended FEMA Senior Leadership Briefings. Many FEMA personnel deployed to the NRCC worked 12 hours shifts, 24 hours for 56 days straight. A special thanks to the following Salvation Army officers who volunteered and provided emotional care to our hard-working partners at the NRCC: Capt. David Lee, Captain Valencia Lewis, Capts. Srikant and Indrani Bhatnagar, Capts. David and Raquel Lorenzo, Lt. Miguel Ramos, Capt. Ashley Taylor, Major Jeanne Johnson, Majors James and Leisa Hall, Lt. Whitney Tomberlain, Lt. Rachel Orona, Capts. Alvaro and Danitza Porras, and Major Donald Wilson. | Hurricane Harvey - Texas Thanks to the generous support of donors, $30 million has been designated to Hurricane Harvey response and recovery efforts. Distribution Centers: Established Distribution Centers in the most impacted locations: Houston, Victoria, the Golden Triangle, Texas City, Corpus Christi.
Case Management: Hiring local caseworkers to help support long term recovery efforts and case management staff.
Christmas Toys: Purchasing bulk quantities of toys to augment traditional Christmas efforts to be extended to hurricane survivors. Hurricane Irma - Florida Because of the generous support of donors, $13 million has been designated for Hurricane Irma response and recovery. In addition, divisions are providing up to $250 in financial support to hurricane evacuees. Disaster Assistance Center: Through case management, distributing gift cards, bulk commodities, food boxes in Naples and Ft. Myers
Supporting Evacuees from Puerto Rico: Personnel at Miami and Orlando airports are providing support to Hurricane Maria self-evacuating from Puerto Rico to Florida as well as providing some case management.
Distribution from Local Corps: Corps in Leesburg, Jacksonville, Miami and Key West are distributing gift cards, clothing vouchers and bulk commodities. Hurricane Irma - Georgia Food Boxes: Distributed food boxes in St. Mary's, Brunswick and Savannah.
Case Management: Hiring case workers to support St. Mary's, Brunswick and Savannah. Hurricane Maria - Puerto Rico and USVI The Salvation Army continues to coordinate relief efforts and emergency assistance on Puerto Rico due to the extensive damage on the power infrastructure and other factors. Long Term recovery work will begin in the weeks ahead, however, some distribution programs have begun. Water Filtration Kits: Distributing 2500 kits with a capacity of filtering 600 gallons of water.
Distribution from Local Corps: Corps in Puerto Rico and USVI are offering clothing, food boxes, cleanup kits and cleaning supplies. | October 24, 2017: The Salvation Amy Continues Impacting Lives in Remote Parts of Puerto Rico & VI October 20, 2017: Salvation Army Transitions from Response to Recovery for Harvey & Irma October 18, 2017: Salvation Army Welcomes Hurricane Maria Evacuees to Florida October 16, 2017:The Salvation Army Meeting Most Urgent Needs in Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands October 15, 2017: Salvation Army Feeding Assistance Continues after Northern California Wildfires October 12, 2017: St. Thomas Salvation Army Partners with Red Cross To Coordinate Deliveries October 10, 2017: Salvation Army extends meal service at Napa and Santa Rosa evacuation centers October 6, 2017: In Puerto Rico, Over 1.2 Million Survivors' Needs Met by The Salvation Army October 6, 2017:Salvation Army Provides Bilingual Assistance for Irma Survivors October 2, 2017:The Salvation Army in Mexico Continues a Multifaceted Disaster Response September 30, 2017:In U.S. Virgin Islands, Salvation Army Provides Free Clothing to the Needy September 28, 2017: Starting Over at Age 73 After Suffering Losses on Farm in Bayside September 27, 2017: Three Essential Items For Families With Babies September 25, 2017: Sunday School for Survivors and Spiritual Care in Corpus Christi September 24, 2017: Salvation Army Volunteer Gives Life-Saving Medical Assistance in Victoria, TX September 24, 2017: From Midwest Food Bank with Love September 20, 2017: Emotional and Spiritual Care: An Essential Need in Disaster Response September 20, 2017: MPOWERD and The Salvation Army Partner to Provide a Light in the Darkness September 17, 2017: Mercy Chefs Do The Cooking in Rockport, Texas September 17, 2017: Hurricane Survivors Find Comfort in Christ September 15, 2017: Six from Kroc Center Hawaii's EDS team deploy to Texas for hurricane recovery September 14, 2017: Partnership helps The Salvation Army deploy needed resources to Florida September 12, 2017: Creative, High-Tech Solutions to Meet Survivor Needs in Houston September 6, 2017:Off-Road Vehicles Assist Disaster Relief Efforts | For information on the current disaster relief efforts of The Salvation Army please visit www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org | Our Mission The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is base on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. | |
