Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Disaster relief organizations like Eight Days of Hope are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Ian and are ready to send in workers and supplies to help with the potential grand damage the hurricane will cause.
Steve Tybor, Founder of Eight Days of Hope (EDOH), is currently working with his volunteers by preparing for years of recovery, "We've been preparing the last 7 to 10 days. Millions of dollars of equipment [and] our volunteer leaders [are] getting ready to go in as soon as the storm passes. This morning, seeing the strength of the storm, I mean, people have to remember Hurricane Katrina was a category four hurricane and right now, Hurricane Ian is within two miles per hour of being a category five, whenever any part of the country gets hit by a category four or five hurricane, you're looking at anywhere between 5 and 10 years of recovery."
The interdenominational faith-based group has helped lend a hand during a number of the nation's greatest natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Now, they are ready to take their free services to Florida, starting next week, "Thousands of volunteers will be in route to Florida starting probably Sunday or Monday, once everything is cleared out and it's been deemed safe for the volunteers. We'll be there for multiple months, we're going to help out hundreds and hundreds of families, never charging a penny and trying to bring hope to those who are feeling hopeless," Tybor said on WBEN Wednesday morning.
This unique ministry will bring their millions of dollars of equipment to the Tampa Bay or Sarasota area and get right to work, "Chainsaws will be removing trees off of driveways and streets and homes. We'll be tarping roofs where there's flooding. It's very important, especially down south, that you dry out the home as fast as possible so mold doesn't set in. We'll be gutting out or mucking out hundreds of homes, removing the insulation, the drywall, the electrical, the carpets [and] the cabinets [and] very quickly bring in about a half a million dollars of commercial dehumidifiers and fans to dry it out And then about three days later, spray it for mold." Tybor describes.
The team is also bringing their four shower and two laundry trailers to provide those with no power with hot showers and laundry services, "Your clothes are salvageable if you can wash them and clean them in the timely fashion. So our volunteers will be doing laundry as well," Tybor says.
This national ministry will bring thousands of volunteers from all over the country, including about 150 from Buffalo. You can sign up to volunteer or donate at eightdaysofhope.com.