Hurricane Dorian has devastated homes across the Bahamas. Assistance is urgently needed during the relief phase of the emergency to provide food, water, shelter, communications, and evacuation of residents in the affected areas. Help.NGO has deployed its disaster immediate response team to assist in rapidly delivering supplies, coordinating with the Caribbean disaster emergency management agency on relief operations, setting up satellite connectivity on Abaco/The Cays/Grand Bahama, getting fuel to families in need, and supporting the air transport of foods to sandy point. Help.NGO has several members with homes in the affected storm area.
PRIORITY 1 – Connectivity
From the initial funding raised we will be bringing in specialized portable satellite equipment including Satellite Phones, BGAN internet terminals, inflatable VSAT dishes, and point to point equipment. This will allow more people to reconnect in the area and begin planning for the recovery. These services will be made available to first response teams and the affected communities.
PRIORITY 2 – Fuel Supply
Due to damage to Marsh Harbor Airport we are working to get JET-A1 fuel to Sandy Point to serve as a launching point for helicopters to reach damaged zones. We intend to stage fuel at this location by syphoning fuel into safe bladders off of fixed wing aircraft. We also will work with specialists to distribute fuel to those affected (Fuel Relief Fund).
PRIORITY 3 – Relief Materials
Once connectivity and fuel (for transport and power) have been resolved we intend to work on the large-scale movement and distribution of relief materials including food, water, and blue tarps to provide shelter to those structures still safe enough to shelter in place. This will be done across all of the affected areas.
PRIORITY 4 – Damage Mapping
As the relief effort is ongoing Help.NGO will deploy mapping teams to capture high resolution imagery of affected areas via drone. This imagery will be processed and time stamped allowing residents to document the damage and hold a record for them to later file insurance claims or government relief applications.
PRIORITY 5 – Recovery Operations
If the full amount of funds are raised the remaining funds not used in the response phase will be used for long term recovery operations in affected zones.