Florida
Florida Hurricane Idalia Relief
August 2023 – September 2023
AHAH responded to Hurricane Idalia by helping clean up storm-damaged homes, remove debris, and support families with essential repairs.
Disaster Profile
Hurricane Idalia Brings Historic Devastation to Florida’s Big Bend
Hurricane Idalia landed in Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 3 hurricane on August 30, 2023 – the most powerful storm to hit the region in over 125 years. The storm surge measured 6.8 feet in Cedar Key, with powerful winds reaching 125 mph, causing catastrophic flooding and leaving 330,000 without power. Damage spread across several states as the storm passed over Georgia with wind speeds at 90 mph and decreased to a tropical storm as it passed over South and North Carolina.
Our Response
Partnering With Local Leaders and Organizations to Help Communities Rebuild
AHAH’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) was on the ground in Florida’s Big Bend just days after Hurricane Idalia struck. To ensure the program was tailored to the unique needs of affected communities, our team connected with local leaders and organizations working on the ground such as Florida Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (FLVOAD) and Crisis Relief and Recovery (CRR). In addition to our home repair work, we also partnered with Steinhatchee Marina, a local business that ran a distribution center to provide essential supplies to hurricane survivors like food, water, ice and toiletries. At the marina, we set up an information booth to connect with disaster-impacted community members and help them access recovery resources.
Prioritizing homeowners with the least access to recovery resources, we completed nine critical home repairs, 11 debris removals and 22 muck and guts. One such homeowner whom we supported with debris removal was Pastor Paul, who graciously allowed AHAH to run our base of operations out of Steinhatchee’s First Baptist Church. To build local capacity, AHAH provided the Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG) in Steinhatchee with tools, equipment and training to conduct mold sanitation. With these materials, LTRG can assemble over 30 sanitation kits, enabling homeowners to continue on their path to recovery.
