Just weeks after Hurricane Helene left a path of destruction from Florida through North Carolina, and Hurricane Milton retraumatized parts of Florida still attempting to recover from Hurricanes Ian and Idalia, Team Rubicon has stood up disaster relief operations in five states. With more than 300 disaster relief volunteers—or Greyshirts—deployed in dozens of communities, it’s the most Forward Operating Bases the veteran-led nonprofit has ever stood up in one geographical area at a time. Here’s how, and where, Team Rubicon is conducting hurricane relief operations in response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, now.
Hurricane Relief Volunteers Take on Work in Asheville and Charlotte, North Carolina
In Buncombe County, NC, more than 60 Greyshirts are currently on the ground responding to the devastation left by Hurricane Helene. The Team Rubicon volunteers are working in and around Asheville, conducting muck outs, chainsaw operations, flood mitigation work, debris removal, roof tarping, and heavy equipment operations.
In addition to the work done in support of city and county needs, Team Rubicon has been assisting fellow service members by mucking out more than 150 rooms at the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry’s Veterans Restoration Quarters, a converted motel providing housing for 250 vulnerable veterans. Greyshirts have already cleared out thousands of pounds of mud and removed damaged items from all common areas and quarters damaged by Helene flooding. The volunteers are also operating heavy equipment to remove damaged vehicles and pile the debris for pick up by government contractors. Team Rubicon’s goal for the project is to get this property cleaned to the studs, allowing other partners, including The Home Depot, to begin the rebuild process.
Farther to the south, in Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County, Greyshirts have been conducting muck outs and debris removal since early October.
Saw Teams Support Communities in South Carolina
Team Rubicon volunteers have been serving in Greenwood County since October 3, supporting the community to resolve damages sustained after Hurricane Helene. Greyshirts have been assisting the local community with sawyer operations, debris removal, and expedient home repairs in an attempt to restore homes and properties to a safe and livable condition.
Greyshirts Respond to Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Five Florida Counties
In response to Hurricane Helene, which made landfall on September 26, causing widespread flooding and damaging more than 4,200 homes, Team Rubicon has been mobilizing more than three dozen Greyshirts to the New Port Richey area to support hurricane relief efforts in Pasco County and surrounding Hernando and North Pinellas counties. Volunteers have been tarping roofs, mucking out homes, and removing debris from the storm.
On October 15, Greyshirts began returning to the Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte areas of Charlotte County for the fifth time in two years. More than 2,000 Greyshirts served on a Hurricane Ian response in the area in 2022, and nearly 75 Greyshirts returned to the area in 2023 to provide extended recovery assistance to individuals.
Hundreds of Greyshirts will serve Charlotte County over the course of the next month in response to 2024’s Hurricanes Helene and Milton, conducting debris removal and muck outs, and assisting with expedient home repairs.
Across the state on the Atlantic Coast, nearly three dozen Greyshirts are deployed in St. Lucie County, in response to a devastating tornado—caused by winds from Hurricane Milton—that ripped through the county just before that hurricane made landfall on the opposite coast. Over the course of the next month, Greyshirts will remove debris left by the storm, muck homes, conduct chainsaw work, and assist community members with expedient home repairs.
Greyshirts Get Swamping Done in Georgia
More than two dozen Greyshirts are conducting chainsaw work, heavy equipment operations, tarping roofs, and removing debris between I-75 and Douglas, GA, in Berrien, Coffee, and Tift counties.
In nearby Jeff Davis County, dozens of Greyshirts have been tarping roofs, running chainsaw operations, clearing debris, and beginning expedient home repairs in and around Hazlehurst. The operation is expected to last 30 days.
Dozens of Greyshirts are also on the ground for a hurricane relief operation farther north, near Augusta, in Richmond County, where they are doing debris removal, roof tarping, and chainsaw work through at least November 3.
In Tennessee, Volunteers Take on Hurricane Damage
Since October 4, Greyshirts have been conducting muck outs, chainsaw operations, debris removal, and expedient home repairs near Greeneville, TN, in Greene and Washington counties in response to damage left by Hurricane Helene.
On October 17, Greyshirts began serving along the West Virginia border in Carter and Johnson counties, where they’ll spend the next 30 days conducting chainsaw work, muck outs, and debris removal.
The numerous operations are just the beginning of what Team Rubicon expects will be months of disaster relief and recovery work in the American Southeast in response to 2024’s historic hurricanes.
