Less than a week after veteran-led disaster relief nonprofit Team Rubicon launched Midwest and Hawaiʻi disaster relief operations, it has expanded operations in both places.
Two New Disaster Response Operations in Hawaiʻi
In response to Hurricane Lala, which brought extensive damage to multiple Hawaiian islands between August 14 and 16, Team Rubicon has stood up additional disaster response operations on Hawaiʻi and Maui.
Already, Team Rubicon volunteers, or Greyshirts, have been deployed on Oʻahu, where they have been mucking out homes, tarping roofs, and conducting chainsaw and general debris removal operations. Then, on August 23, nearly two dozen more Greyshirts began mobilizing on Maui, where they will be conducting chainsaw operations to clear debris from Hurricane Lala.
On August 25, Greyshirts also began deploying to Hawaiʻi Island for what is expected to be a weeklong operation. With a major focus on clearing hurricane debris, chainsaw operations will begin in Ocean View and then expand to Naʻalehu, Pahala, and Captain Cook, as resources allow.
Greyshirts Expand Midwest Disaster Relief Operations to Gary, Indiana
Team Rubicon had more than 160 volunteers deployed on five disaster relief operations in Indiana and Ohio as of August 25. Those operations were expanded when the nonprofit stood up a sixth operation in Gary, Indiana.
With a large elderly population and pockets ranking as high as .97 on the Social Vulnerability Index, Gary was largely underserved after the storms. Much of the city was without power for two weeks. On Tuesday, the first of dozens of Greyshirts arrived in Gary, where they are expected to serve on a multi-week operation. Through at least September 8, Greyshirts will assist local residents by mucking flooded homes, tarping roofs, and conducting chainsaw operations to clear the region of storm debris.
