FLORIDA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Volunteer Base Camp Services – 2023 Hurricane Idalia (DR-4734-FL)

ACTIVATION:

August 28, 2023, to December 20, 2023 (Base camp opened on September 10, 2023)

LOCATION:

918 CR-400, Sports Complex, Mayo, Lafayette County, FL

PERSONNEL:

20 personnel

PROJECT BACKGROUND

On August 30, 2023, at 7:45 a.m., Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida, as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph. Idalia was the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. As the eye moved inland, high winds shredded signs, blew off roofs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees. Less than 20 miles south of where Idalia made landfall, businesses, boat docks, and homes in Steinhatchee were swallowed up by water surging in from Deadman’s Bay. Water levels near Cedar Key reach a record 6.8 feet, and the storm surge water level reach 8.9 feet. Across Pasco County, an estimated 2,000 homes were damaged as up to 5 feet of water inundated homes. At least 278,000 customers lost power. Damages from Idalia in Florida are estimated to be between $3 and $5 billion.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• At the request of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, CDR|EM established a 100-person base camp (expanded to 144 on September 27) with wrap around services at the Sports Complex in Mayo, Lafayette County for volunteers and mutual aid crews serving the counties of Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwanee, and Taylor.
• Base camp services include registration services, 12-person mobile sleeping trailers, showers, restrooms, laundry, catering and dining facilities, power generation/HVAC, hygiene and sanitation, custodial services, ADA compliance, tenting, transportation and fueling, heavy equipment, and IT/WiFi services.
• Onsite management team includes project manager, registration specialist, maintenance and generator technician, and cleaning staff.
• Volunteer guests include:
  • AmeriCorps
  • Team Rubicon
  • United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
  • Cajun Navy
• Over 600 guests (volunteers) have stayed at the Mayo Base Camp.
• Between the four volunteer groups above, volunteers have provided hurricane relief to over 1,000 households, which includes clearing roadways, tarping damaged roofs, removing fallen trees and hazardous limbs, and hauling, mopping, mucking, demolishing, and removing debris from impacted households.
• Collaborated with FDEM, Volunteer Florida, county EM agencies, Salvation Army, etc. to facilitate volunteer operations throughout six impacted counties.