NECHAMA JEWISH RESPONSE TO DISASTER
PO BOX 17249, SAINT PAUL, MN 55117 www.nechama.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: NECHAMA'S MISSION IS TO BRING COMFORT TO PEOPLE IMPACTED BY NATURAL DISASTERS BY EQUIPPING AND LEADING VOLUNTEERS IN ASSISTING COMMUNITIES WITH DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY NATIONWIDE.

DISASTER RESPONSE:PUERTO RICO RECOVERYFEBRUARY 2018 - AUGUST 2019ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2017, HURRICANE MARIA MADE LANDFALL IN PUERTO RICO. IT IS REGARDED AS THE WORST NATURAL DISASTER ON RECORD FOR PUERTO RICO. THE STORM CAUSED WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION TO HOMES, BUSINESSES, AND LIVELIHOODS, EXACERBATING AN ALREADY TENUOUS ECONOMIC SITUATION ON THE ISLAND.HURRICANE MARIA DEVASTATED THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS THE ISLAND. THE POWER GRID WAS DESTROYED, LEAVING MILLIONS WITHOUT ELECTRICITY, AND FOR MONTHS MOST OF THE POPULATION WAS WITHOUT TAP WATER AND CELL PHONE SERVICE. ROUGHLY 80% OF PUERTO RICO'S CROP VALUE WAS WIPED OUT, LEADING TO AN AGRICULTURAL CRISIS. THE ISLAND'S HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES REMAINED HEAVILY DAMAGED CAUSING LOGISTICAL PROBLEMS FOR AID AND RELIEF. AND TOURISM, PUERTO RICO'S MAIN ECONOMIC RESOURCE, HAD DECREASED BY HALF.WE FIRST BEGAN OUR PROGRAM IN PUERTO RICO IN FEBRUARY OF 2018, WITH A FOCUS ON CONCRETE ROOF REPAIR WORK. AFTER REPAIRING OVER 100 ROOFS, WE UNDERWENT A PROGRAM REVIEW AND DETERMINED WE HAD MORE TO OFFER. AS PART OF NECHAMA'S NEWLY DEVELOPED HOLISTIC VIEW OF RECOVERY, WE SOUGHT TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC ISSUES EXACERBATED BY THE HURRICANES AND FOUND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT AS THEY WILL BE IN PUERTO RICO LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE. WHILE STILL WORKING ON CONCRETE ROOF REPAIR, WE EXPANDED OUR PROGRAM TO INCLUDE WORK IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, MANGROVE RESTORATION, AND FOREST RESTORATION.CONCRETE ROOF REPAIRCONCRETE IS USED EXTENSIVELY IN RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION IN PUERTO RICO. WITHOUT SEALANT AND PROPER RE-APPLICATION, MANY ROOFS WERE LEFT UNPROTECTED AND EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS DURING HURRICANE MARIA.CONCRETE ROOF REPAIR INCLUDES BOTH EXTERIOR WORK (PRESSURE WASHING, SCRAPING, PRIMING, AND SEALING) AND INTERIOR RESTORATION. OUR VOLUNTEERS ADDRESSED BOTH OF THESE AREAS WHILE FORGING RELATIONSHIPS WITH EACH FAMILY ASSISTED.CORRUGATED METAL ROOF REPAIROUR TEAMS WORKED ON MINOR REPAIRS TO METAL ROOFS, FIXING LEAKS, AND ADDING HURRICANE-RESISTANT REINFORCEMENTS.AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTIN THE 1940S, A PROJECT CALLED "OPERATION BOOTSTRAP" WAS PUT IN PLACE BY CONGRESS TO KICKSTART PUERTO RICO'S ECONOMY, MOVING THE ISLAND AWAY FROM AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION TOWARDS INCREASED MANUFACTURING AND TOURISM. THIS LED TO AN 85% IMPORT DRIVEN FOOD SYSTEM, LEAVING ONLY 15% OF PUERTO RICO'S FOOD TO BE SOURCED LOCALLY. FOLLOWING HURRICANE MARIA WHEN THE ISLAND WAS UNABLE TO RECEIVE SUPPLIES, THERE WAS A SEVERE FOOD SHORTAGE AND MINIMAL LOCAL RESOURCES TO ADDRESS IT.WE JOINED WITH THE FARMING GROUP SIEMBRA TRES VIDAS TO SUPPORT THEIR MISSION TO MAKE PUERTO RICO MORE AGRICULTURALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT. THEIR NETWORK OF FARMS ALSO INCLUDES A CROP SHARE, ALLOWING COMMUNITY MEMBERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME IN EXCHANGE FOR FRESH PRODUCE. OUR VOLUNTEERS WORKED WITH THEM AT MULTIPLE FARMS HARVESTING CROPS, CLEARING GROUND, AND PLANTING TO EXPAND THEIR OPERATIONS.MANGROVE RESTORATIONAFTER THE HURRICANES, DRIVING ALONG THE ISLAND COASTLINE PROVED DIFFICULT DUE TO LARGE MOUNDS OF SAND, BLOWN INLAND FROM THE BEACHES, COVERING THE ROADS. NOT ONLY DID MARIA DESTROY HOMES AND ROADS WITH WATER AND WIND, BUT IT DAMAGED THE ENVIRONMENT BY HINDERING WILDLIFE AND DESTROYING NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS. MANGROVES PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE ENVIRONMENT DUE TO THEIR EXTENSIVE ROOT SYSTEM IN MITIGATING SOIL EROSION AND PROTECTING SHORELINES AGAINST SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS. MANGROVES ARE ALSO A KEY PLAYER IN DESALINATION, THE PROCESS OF REMOVING MINERALS AND SALTS FROM WATER THAT CAN BE HARMFUL FOR AGRICULTURE.NECHAMA VOLUNTEERS ASSISTED LOCAL ORGANIZATION CARAS CON CAUSA TWO DAYS OUT OF THE WEEK WITH THE PRODUCTION AND GROWTH OF MANGROVES IN THE COMMUNITY NURSERY, REMOVAL OF INVASIVE SPECIES TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN PLANTING SITES, AND THE PLANTING AND MONITORING OF NEW SELF- MANGROVE FORESTS ALONGSIDE OTHER NATIVE SPECIES.FOREST RESTORATIONTHE COMBINED EFFECTS OF HURRICANES IRMA AND MARIA HAVE ALTERED EL YUNQUE NATIONAL FOREST'S LANDSCAPE FOR DECADES TO COME. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE - FOREST SERVICE AGENTS ASSESSED THAT 40-60% OF THE TALL TREES THAT FORMED THE CANOPY OF THE FOREST HAD BEEN UPROOTED FROM DEVASTATING WINDS. MULTIPLE REMOTE TRAILS THROUGHOUT THE AREA WERE RUINED FROM MUDSLIDES AND DEBRIS AND RAIN SHELTERS AS WELL AS WATERSHEDS WERE OBLITERATED.WE WERE ABLE TO ASSIST THE USDA-FOREST SERVICE WITH RESTORING THE ONLY RAINFOREST IN THE UNITED STATES & TERRITORIES IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS: TRAIL OPENING/MAINTENANCE. SIGN AND STRUCTURE INSTALLATION. CAMPSITE CLEARING AND RESTORATION REVITALIZATION OF PUBLIC RECREATION AREAS RESTORATION OF RAIN SHELTERS & WATERSHEDS.FAMILIES ASSISTED: 119DAYS DEPLOYED: 1.5 YRSVOLUNTEERS: 1,152VOL TIME $$ VALUE: $1,637,397HORRY COUNTY RECOVERYJANUARY - MARCH 2019HURRICANE FLORENCE MADE LANDFALL NEAR WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA AS A CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE ON SEPT 14TH, 2018. THE HURRICANE WAS MASSIVE IN SIZE, RECORDED AT 350 MILES WIDE AS IT HUNG OVER THE CAROLINA'S FOR DAYS AFTER IT MADE LANDFALL, AND MOVED AT AN INCREDIBLY SLOW PACE, 6 MPH, WHICH ALLOWED THE STORM TO DUMP RECORD-BREAKING AMOUNTS OF RAIN.BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 13 AND SEPTEMBER 16, WIDESPREAD AREAS REPORTED MORE THAN 30 INCHES OF RAIN, SOME AREAS AS MUCH AS 40 INCHES. RIVERS AND CREEKS CONTINUED TO RISE AS THE DAYS WENT ON CAUSING WIDESPREAD FLOODING IN THE CAROLINAS.WORKING IN COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL PARTNERS, WE RETURNED TO HORRY COUNTY, NC, THE SAME AREA WE ASSISTED DURING OUR RESPONSE PROGRAM IN 2018. WE PRIMARILY INSTALLED INSULATION AND HUNG DRYWALL, BUT WE ALSO WORKED ON SOME MINOR ROOFING REPAIRS, PAINTING AND FLOORING.FAMILIES ASSISTED: 6DAYS DEPLOYED: 68VOLUNTEERS: 25VOL TIME $$ VALUE: $97,080SONOMA COUNTY, CA RESPONSEMARCH - APRIL 2019ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH, 2019, A SLOW-MOVING STORM MADE ITS WAY INTO THE WEST COAST BRINGING HEAVY RAINFALL THAT SPREAD ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. THE COUNTIES OF SONOMA, AMADOR, GLENN, LAKE, AND MENDOCINO WERE INUNDATED WITH FLOOD WATER BY THE RUSSIAN RIVER. THE RIVER HAD EXCEEDED 45 FEET AT ITS PEAK, OVER 14 FEET ABOVE FLOOD STAGE.SONOMA COUNTY WAS HIT THE HARDEST WITH AN ESTIMATED 2,000 DAMAGED HOMES. THE SONOMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT ISSUED AN EVACUATION OF 3,500 RESIDENTS. TOWNS INCLUDING GUERNEVILLE AND MONTE RIO WERE TURNED INTO INACCESSIBLE ISLANDS AS THE FLOODWATERS ROSE FROM THE RUSSIAN RIVER AND MANY RESIDENTS SAW OVER 8 FEET OF WATER IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.THIS SHORT PROGRAM WAS CENTERED AROUND PROVIDING THIS SMALL, CLOSE-KNIT MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY MUCK AND GUT SERVICES, THE FIRST STEP IN THE PROCESS TOWARDS HOME RECOVERY.FAMILIES ASSISTED: 10DAYS DEPLOYED: 35VOLUNTEERS: 10VOL TIME $$ VALUE: $26,969BARRY COUNTY, MO ASSESSMENTMAY 2019ON APRIL 30TH AND MAY 1ST, A STRONG LINE OF STORMS SWEPT FROM DALLAS, TEXAS TO CENTRAL ILLINOIS - SPAWNING AT LEAST TWO DOZEN TORNADOES, DAMAGING HAIL, AND RESULTING 3-4+ INCHES OF RAIN. IN SW MISSOURI, FLOODING AND TORNADO DAMAGE WAS REPORTED IN MULTIPLE COUNTIES. WHEATON, MO TOOK THE BRUNT OF THE TORNADO DAMAGE IN BARRY COUNTY MOSTLY AFFECTING THE SMALLER FAMILY FARMS IN THE AREA.DURING OUR ASSESSMENT, WE FOUND THE PEOPLE OF THIS AREA QUICK TO RECOVER WITH NO NEED FOR A FORMAL PROGRAM, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO HELP A COUPLE OF FAMILY FARMS GET BACK ON THEIR FEET.NORTH CAROLINA ASSESSMENTSEPTEMBER 2019ON SEPTEMBER 6TH, DORIAN MADE LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 1 STORM NEAR CAPE HATTERAS, NC. THE DAMAGE WAS PARTICULARLY SEVERE ON OCRACOKE ISLAND WHERE STORM SURGES CONTRIBUTED TO MASS FLOODING THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. ISOLATED FROM THE MAINLAND, OCRACOKE COULD ONLY RECEIVE ASSISTANCE VIA FERRY AND HELICOPTER, AND EVACUATED RESIDENTS WERE NOT ALLOWED BACK ON THE ISLAND UNTIL POWER COULD BE RESTORED SIX DAYS LATER.THE COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING OCRACOKE ISLAND QUICKLY JUMPED TO AID THE INUNDATED TOWN. WE ASSISTED TWO FAMILIES BEFORE DETERMINING THAT THE ISLAND HAD THEIR RECOVERY IN HAND.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS:IN AN EFFORT TO HELP AFFECTED-COMMUNITIES AND NATIONAL AND LOCAL PARTNERS, NECHAMA OFFERS PREPAREDNESS TRAININGS AIMED AT IMPROVING THE DISASTER RESPONSE SKILLS OF LOCAL VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF.

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