Operation Blessing Preps Relief Teams as Florence Closes In
Operation Blessing International, the Virginia Beach-based humanitarian organization, will prestage two disaster relief teams ahead of an expected strike by Hurricane Florence.
An advance team will be prestage in Emporia, Virginia, beginning Wednesday afternoon. Emporia is strategically-located west of the coast and is also adjacent to Highway 95, which runs south towards what is anticipated to be the hardest-hit areas from Florence. This team will ride out the storm in Emporia and deploy as quickly as possible afterwards with the following equipment:
- Mobile kitchen with the capability to serve 1,000 hot meals a day
- Construction trailer loaded with tools and emergency supplies
- Dehumidifier trailer with the capability to dry out and sanitize flooded homes
- Two box trucks full of emergency relief supplies (two pallets of bottled water, four pallets Home Depot flood kits, MREs, enough food to supply the mobile kitchen to prepare 9,000 hot meals, two field kitchen ovens, tools and supplies to support volunteers responding with OB)
A second team will prestage at the CBN campus on Centerville Turnpike to aid in local recovery efforts and coordinate volunteers.
The CBN property is at a higher elevation and is not expected to flood.
The deployment team will ride out the storm and deploy as quickly as possible afterwards. Equipment includes:
- Mobile command center
- Mobile kitchen
- Construction trailer (full of tools for volunteers to help affected residents)
- Kohler shower trailer with auxiliary 1,500-gallon tank
- 80-kw generator
- Box truck full of emergency relief supplies (two pallets of bottled water, Home Depot flood kits, MRE’s, food to supply the mobile kitchen to prepare 3,000 hot meals, tools and supplies to support volunteers responding with OB)
Operation Blessing team leaders are working in conjunction with local emergency management officials in Hampton Roads and may adjust plans if the storm changes track. The organization expects to call for volunteers after the storm departs; stay tuned for further details on how and where to volunteer. {eoa}
For more information on Operation Blessing International, please visit ob.org.
