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Hello Jesse,
Our lives as disaster responders are impacted daily by the effects of climate change. This new reality is changing our conversations and increasingly causing adaptions to disaster response methods and behavior.
MDS has been involved in a cutting-edge project in Somerset and Dorchester counties, Maryland. It is, as far as we know, one of the first, if not the first, response of its kind to combine long-term recovery with the intentional mitigation component of home elevation. The area of the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland now sees continuous coastal flooding with the increased frequency and intensity of storms. Homes that we repaired following Superstorm Sandy in 2021 are now circling back to us for repair again. Repetitive loss has become a major variable and consideration in our responses.
In October 2021 and unnamed and undeclared storm brought the worst tidal flooding to the state of Maryland in 50 years. The Eastern Shore Long Term Recovery Committee made a strategic decision not to immediately use resources to repair damaged homes. They undertook a goal, in Phase 1, to build 10 new homes, replacing those that were destroyed and repair 23 homes for families to have a safe and secure place to dwell. The remaining 100 homes, that have qualified for assistance, have been moved into Phase 2, which has a goal to elevate and repair the homes--using volunteers to assist in the work, thereby reducing costs. Elevating the 100 homes is the mitigation component that has been integrated into the long-term recovery.
In collaboration with various funders and experts in the field of elevating homes, MDS has built foundations under the first two of these elevated houses, thereby gaining experience and understanding the logistics of using volunteers to accomplish this work.
When I think of those 100 homes—and particularly all the tears, laughter, hope, and promise those homes will hold—I give thanks to God.
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