In late August 2020, Hurricane Laura, which built up to become a Category 4 Atlantic Hurricane, hit the Gulf Coast of the United States as the strongest hurricane to ever hit the state of Louisiana. Wind speeds reached over 100 mph and caused major destruction on Laura’s path north as she made landfall. The storm was also felt in Eastern Texas and as far north as Arkasnas and surrounding areas. On its way to the continental US, still as a Tropical Storm, Laura struck the Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba.
Reach Out WorldWide immediately responded to requests for supplies in Bridge City, Texas after residents were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning due to back up power generators being operated in enclosed space. With help from Lowe’s Home Improvement, ROWW donated an entire pallet worth of gas detectors and batteries to the Eastern Texas region.
On Labor Day weekend ROWW deployed together with the Sirens Project and a small team of local volunteers in Lake Charles, Sulphur, and Moss Bluff, Louisiana to conduct chainsaw work, debris removal, and roof tarping. We were trained in using the W.O.W purification system and we purified several thousand gallons of drinking water! The blue bladder holds 1,250 gallons and we’ve filled several! We take the purified water to the tanker & deliver it for food prep and drinking water. What an amazing machine! We fell over 40 hazardous trees and cleared blocked roads for safe travel as the community began recovering. Our team safely tarped damaged roofs on 12 buildings for safe re-entry. There’s lots of work still to be done in the Lake Charles area and ROWW will keep in touch with the community to ensure we’re doing our best to get residents back on their feet. If you or someone you know was displaced due to Hurricane Laura and have immediate needs, please contact us with details for assistance.
