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Sep 29, 24

Mutual Aid and Autonomous Disaster Relief Groups Mobilize in Wake of Hurricane Helene

A Category 4 storm, Hurricane Helene, one of the largest storms to hit the Gulf Coast in a century, collided into the Big Bend area of Northern Florida on Thursday, before moving into neighboring states of Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and the Carolinas. According to media reports, upwards of 60 people have already been confirmed dead, although the death toll is expected to rise as many municipalities have yet to release official numbers as cell phone service and internet remains down and millions are currently without power. Extreme flooding has been reported in Atlanta, GA and Asheville, NC, as whole communities are left stranded and lacking proper shelter and access to clean drinking water.

As Truthout reported, “While hurricanes are no stranger to the Gulf Coast, climate change has intensified their destructive impacts, and Hurricane Helene is the just the latest case of the extreme weather events that are rising in their frequency and ferocity.” Compounding this crisis is the fact that many people on the Gulf coast lack “flood insurance, because repeated strikes by powerful hurricanes have driven up insurance rates to unaffordable levels.”

As someone from Triangle Mutual Aid reported, “The geographic scale of this disaster is beyond anything most of us have dealt with before. It’s most similar to hurricane Katrina in my experience, though over much different terrain and with people completely unprepared for it.” A recent post from Firestorm anarchist community center in Asheville, NC commented, “Our community is experiencing an ongoing crisis created by infrastructural collapse and the profound failure of capitalism to value and sustain life. No state or federal aid has yet reached Asheville, but all around us we’re seeing regular people acting autonomously to address immediate needs and meet one another with care.”

What follows is a collection of autonomous mutual aid groups and disaster relief resources that are being mobilized in the southeast in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Please consider boosting and donating to these groups and organizing support for supply chains to impacted areas.

General Mutual Aid Disaster Relief Fund

There is a wide network of mutual aid groups responding on the ground to the impacts of Hurricane Helene, but a huge hub for these efforts is Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR). Check out their Instagram account for updates. They write:

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief is actively responding to the impacts of Hurricane Helene from Florida to the Carolinas. Supplies and financial support are needed. Several supply hubs are forming to connect the MADR Supply Line. Locations and drop times are coming soon. If you can donate directly, ALL funds go to on the ground response and recovery efforts.

We will continue to update our socials with information we receive from allies on the ground. If you would like to help, your time is priceless. Drivers, medics, kitchen crews, #foodnotbombs, muck and gut work, roofing, electricians, solar installers, chainsaw crews, clearing debris…All needed. Emails us at [email protected] to plug in!

Donate to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief here:

Florida

A mutual aid hub will be set up in Tampa, FL that will be open daily from 12 PM – 4 PM at 609 W Waters Ave. Tampa Food Not Bombs is also doing mutual aid relief.

Food Not Bombs Tallahassee is organizing in support of impacted communities in Taylor County. To help with these efforts, please donate at:

To donate for mutual aid efforts in Perry, FL:

Food Not Bombs St. Petersburg is helping to organize autonomous disaster relief efforts and a supply hub at the Gulfport Senior Center.

The St. Petersburg Tenants Union is posting updates and ways that tenants are organizing in the lead up to Hurricane Milton. Support their work here:

  • Venmo: @ StPetersburgTU
  • Cashapp: $ StPetersburgTU

In Gainesville, FL, Food Not Bombs is providing free meals and disaster relief supplies.

  • Venmo: GNVFNB2023

In Lakeland, FL, Lakeland Mutual Aid is providing free meals and other direct aid.

Streets of Paradise in Sarasota is also organizing relief efforts. Fight Toxic Prisons is also organizing phone-zaps to ensure that prisoners and detainees are evacuated from impacted zones.

North Carolina

Buncombe County and surrounding counties are currently experiencing widespread flooding. Funds are being collected to support community members affected by immediate and long term damage. Donate to Appalachian Medical Solidarity here:

  • Venmo: @AppMedSolid
  • CashApp: $Streets1de

In Asheville, NC, the anarchist social center Firestorm is currently reporting:

Our co-op is physically intact and our members are accounted for. Although we’ve fared better than many, we’re experiencing this crisis physically and emotionally. We’re exhausted, largely without power, water, or internet. Cell service is poor, and when we are able to connect, the volume of information is overwhelming. Right now our priority is supporting and facilitating mutual aid efforts and we ask for your patience as we cannot keep up with emails, texts, and DMs.

Firestorm will continue to act as an in-person resource and information hub over the coming days, with staffing from noon to 4pm. A daily meeting at 2pm serves as a space for neighbors to get verified updates and coordinate mutual aid efforts. Other hubs have arisen organically in other parts of town and we’re doing our best to share and connect resources.

Check out more updates Firestorm here.

Mutual aid hubs are also collecting supplies across North Carolina:

Carrboro, NC: Back Alley Bikes
100 Boyd St, Carrboro, NC 27510
Open Tues-Sat 11am – 6pm

Raleigh, NC: RUMAH
415 Hillsborough St Raleigh 27603
Drop Off During Events, See Calendar on website Raleighmutualaid.info

Durham, NC: Art post
718 Iredell St, Durham, NC 27705
Accepting drops starting Monday Sept 30
Monday – Saturday 12 – 6

Durham, NC: The Scrap Exchange
2050 Chapel Hill Rd, Durham, NC 27707
10:30am – 6pm Tue – Sun.

Durham, NC: Maverick’s Smokehouse and Taproom
900 W Main Street Durham NC
normal business hours.

Durham, NC: Fuzzy Needle
1005 W Chapel Hill St, Durham, NC 27701
Thurs/Fr/Sat/Sun 11-4

Greensboro, NC: 241 Summit Avenue
11am – 1pm Tuesday-Friday

In Marshall, NC, Holler Hard Reduction is organizing a supply drive. Rural Organizing and Resilience also has a mutual aid hub set up at Suite 1685 HWY 213 next to DMV.

Charlotte Food Not Bombs is currently organizing disaster relief efforts. You can support them here:

Greensboro Mutual Aid is posting information on how people can plug into mutual aid efforts there.

Follow Raleigh United Mutual Aid Hub here for more info on mutual aid efforts. RUMAH also has a Warehouse space in Raleigh, NC. A recent update writes:

ALL disaster relief efforts are now being coordinated through the Raleigh warehouse location on 1415 South Bloodworth Street in Raleigh! Please try to get donations directly to a warehouse location whenever possible! All of our “Hurricane Relief Drop-Off” times on our calendar (linked in bio) will be for the WAREHOUSE location moving forward! For folks hoping to help volunteer at that location, just come on by during any of those hours – we currently do not have a sign up form, just show up! We can still collect smaller donations at the hub (415 Hillsborough St Raleigh) during any public event, but direct delivery to the warehouse is much preferred!

The Pansy Collective in Western North Carolina is asking for donations to distribute in impacted communities.

Triangle Mutual Aid also has a Patreon you can support and is also posted updates on autonomous disaster relief efforts in response to Hurricane Helene.

South Carolina

Food Not Bombs Charleston is organizing supply runs.

Upstate Food Not Bombs are also currently organizing relief efforts. Donate to them here:

Kentucky

Support and donate to East Kentucky Mutual Aid here:

Tennessee

Support and donate to Tri-Cities Mutual Aid and Solidarity Network.

In Knoxville, TN, support and donate to the First Aid Collective.

  • Venmo: @firstaidcollectknox

Virginia

Support and donate to Tri-Cities Mutual Aid and Solidarity Network.

State Line Abortion Access Partners are also organizing supplies.

Linking Up in Solidarity

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In search of new forms of life. It's Going Down is a digital community center and media platform featuring news, opinion, podcasts, and reporting on autonomous social movements and revolt across so-called North America from an anarchist perspective.

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