Greetings, comrades and co-conspirators!
To say that we at Mutual Aid Disaster Relief have been busy the past few weeks would be putting it mildly. Between our ongoing recovery efforts in the Carolinas following the fallout of Hurricane Florence to our new struggles in the Florida panhandle in the wake of Hurricane Michael, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief has been making an active effort to respond to climate catastrophes with compassion and solidarity. Our training tour is also in full swing on the West coast. Included in this email are links to recent blog updates on our website, interviews and podcast appearances exploring the work of Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, and a list of ways you can donate or get involved in the relief efforts.
A little over a week ago, Hurricane Michael swept through the Florida panhandle, making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. Hurricane Michael collided with Panama Beach, FL with reported 12-13’ storm-surge swamping and subsequently demolishing homes in Mexico Beach, FL. Florida, a state known for its year-round tourism and exquisite beauty, witnessed the terrible ferocity of a natural disaster exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change and late-stage capitalism. Click here for the initial post-Hurricane Michael update: Mutual Aid Efforts in the Wake of Hurricane Michael. 10/11/18
On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael swept into the Florida panhandle with a ferocity unlike anything seen in the region’s recorded history. The intensity of the devastation is difficult to overstate, if not impossible. We caught a glimpse of the future this week in the Florida panhandle. And the future is bleak. Click here to read Dual-Power in a Three-Way Fight: Critical Reflections on Hurricane Michael, 10/14/18
Together with Fight Toxic Prisons, we helped organize a phone zap to urge the evacuation of prisoners in the path of Hurricane Michael: URGENT: Hurricane Michael Phone Zap, 10/10/18. Ongoing disaster prisoner solidarity is still needed.
To read about our efforts standing in solidarity with farmworkers in North Carolina, click here: (In)visible Disasters: Farmworkers and Hurricane Florence. 10/8/18
In Lumberton, NC we are in the process of transitioning to a long-term space. In Panama City, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bay County has been generous enough to let us use their space to serve the community.
Here are some podcast interviews & appearances exploring this work more in depth:
– By Any Means Necessary, MADR Discussion
– The Final Straw: Mutual Aid in the Wake of Hurricane Michael
– Coffee with Comrades, Ep. 15: “Solidarity, Not Charity” Feat. Jimmy Dunson
– It’s Going Down: This is America, Ep. 35
– MADR’s latest update was also read aloud on Ep. 20 of The Guillotine
– The Hotwire, Ep. 41: October 17, 2018
– An Indigenous Activist on Post Hurricane Relief in Eastern NC on The Final Straw
As always, for quicker updates and to follow the ongoing work more closely, you can always check in on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
As Naomi Klein notes, there is a battle for paradise taking place. This is happening in Puerto Rico, in Texas, in North Carolina, Florida, and wherever disasters strike. Disaster survivors do need your support and solidarity. Displacement and trauma along with existing in homes or communities made unrecognizable are the realities. And so is the reality of people coming together and creating a better world in the ruins of the old. Many pathways for autonomous relief and response alongside community led efforts exist. Please consider donating to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief or one of our comrades’ organizations doing disaster relief work.
– Mutual Aid Disaster Relief Donation Page
– Tallahassee DSA Fund
– Florida People’s Advocacy Center
– Amazon Wish-list for the FL Panhandle
– Amazon Wish-list for the Carolinas
– Blue Ridge Autonomous Defense
– Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice
– Tidewater Community Hurricane Fund
– NC Solidarity Network
– Mutual Aid Carrboro
– Appalachian Medical Solidarity
– Support the Port
– BeLoved Asheville
– NC WARN
– Blueprint
– Proyecto Apoyo Mutuo
– Centros de Apoyo Mutuo
– West Street Recovery
Or better yet, if you would like to join us in assisting with relief and recovery efforts, email [email protected] Arborists, people with chainsaw experience, people with construction experience, Spanish speakers, and people able to do mobile distribution with their vehicles are especially needed at this time. If you would like to assist from afar, that is always welcome as well. If you don’t know where to start, consider a tool or other supply drive or hosting a benefit show. Just get in touch and we can explore these and other ways of plugging in.
Thanks, as always, for your support and solidarity.
With love and rage,
– Mutual Aid Disaster Relief