Northwest Iowa — A group of 58 AmeriCorps volunteers is in northwest Iowa helping flood victims, in addition to anyone else who may be helping.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) spokesperson Tiana Suber tells us AmeriCorps tries to get two teams of volunteers into disaster areas as soon as declared.
She says that currently five teams are working in Sioux, Cherokee, and Dickinson counties. To date they have worked in 40 homes for DR-4796-IA, mostly doing “muck and gut” work. Survivors request volunteer help through the Iowa Crisis Clean-up program.
She tells us the first step is to assess the house for safety. AmeriCorps cannot work in red-tagged houses. Next, they work with the survivor to arrange a walk-through of the home to see how high the water rose, what household items need to go, and what needs to stay. The survivor does not have to be present but it is helpful.
Time is scheduled for a team of volunteers to do the extensive “muck and gut” clean-up work over two or more days. Team members show up in full personal protective gear, hazmat suits, and remove all disaster-damaged household appliances, furniture, and other items. They muck out the mud, silt, and other debris and gut the damaged area down to the studs.
She says the young people who volunteer for AmeriCorps are very motivated and passionate about the work they do to help survivors recover. They sign up for a year, and deploy for 30 days at a time, working six days a week. Before heading into disaster areas they receive rigorous training and shadow experienced teams to see and do the work firsthand.
