An emergency reaction group in the Down east is helping people in areas that were badly damaged by Hurricane Helene.
As one of its many jobs, the Down east Emergency Medical Institute does search and relief work all over the country. Right now, they are helping with the cleanup after Hurricane Helene in several states.
They are sending goods into impact zones with five or six of their planes. Someone from DEEMI who lives in the Asheville area has been in touch with them to let them know what and where they need help.
People they know in other places, like Georgia and Florida, have been helping with logistics, says director Richard Bowie.
Bowie says they needed money to pay for fuel for their planes. They made a GoFundMe to help. He talked about what they can see.
“It’s awfully bad.” It’s a lot worse than what we hear. More people are dying than anyone thinks will happen. The numbers will keep going up, just like they did after Katrina.
A lot of people are going to have bad things happen. Whole valleys are being washed away. “Just picture the Penobscot Valley having no people in it at all,” said Richard Bowie, who runs the Downeast Emergency Medicine Institute.
Bowie says that buildings, roads, and water systems are all destroyed. Clean water is one of the most important things we need right now. Bowie says they are carrying a lot of water on board. He also says that people in Maine can help by giving money to their GoFundMe for DEEMI’s fuel funds.
The mains can help with fuel money. That’s the most important thing. Quite a few planes are always in the air. Some of these planes come and go four or five times a day.
Their goal is to bring in as much gear and goods as possible before it gets dark. Also, know that when it gets dark down there, there is nothing because the infrastructure is gone. It’s completely dark.”