We Are Responding to
Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton—the fifth hurricane to hit the US mainland this year—formed in the Caribbean in late September and, after traveling over the record-high water temperatures of the Gulf of Mexico, reached Category 5 status on October 7.

A state of emergency has been declared in Florida, where the government ordered one of the largest evacuations in state history, affecting an estimated 6 million people.

Milton made landfall in an area still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Helene, a powerful Category 4 storm that made landfall in the Big Bend region less than two weeks earlier. The presence of significant amounts of debris from that storm have raised concerns about the effects of Milton’s high winds, while the saturated ground—in many places unable to absorb more water—means that levels of flooding will be extremely high.

High winds and tornadoes have cut off power for more than 3 million people. People with chronic conditions who rely on powered health machines could be at significant risk. Communities and local health facilities will need to rely on alternate sources of power during the initial recovery period.

International Medical Corps deployed an emergency response to the state on Wednesday, September 25, in advance of Hurricane Helene’s arrival, to coordinate closely with the Department of Health on response activities. Our team has remained on the ground to help local healthcare partners—including federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), which serve low-income and other vulnerable populations—and we are providing additional humanitarian relief to help people recover from Milton.

In preparation for Hurricane Milton’s landfall, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) asked us to keep a mobile medical unit mission-ready package (MRP) on standby. As part of the standby procedures, International Medical Corps is readying all MRP assets—including clinical and operational staff and volunteers, supplies and equipment—to deploy and be operational within 48 hours of a request by FDEM.

We also have prepositioned medical equipment and supplies, continue to assess critical needs in communities and are working with our FQHC partners to support relief and recovery efforts. Equipment we have provided to ensure continuity of healthcare services includes:

• alternate power sources;
• coolers for medicines that require refrigeration;
• tents to help partner organizations set up mobile health units;
• hygiene kits;
• food;
• water; and
• portable showers and washing machines.

We will report more on our response activities as the situation develops.

So far in 2024, International Medical Corps has deployed teams in response to Hurricane Helene in the Southeast US, Hurricane Beryl in Texas and Jamaica, to Hurricane Debby in South Carolina and to Hurricane Ernesto in Puerto Rico. We also provided support to partners in Louisiana in response to Hurricane Francine.

International Medical Corps has been an emergency responder in the United States and Caribbean since 2005, when we partnered with local community clinics overwhelmed by Hurricane Katrina. In the US, International Medical Corps works with national, state and local partners in the healthcare system to address the significant challenges that face domestic healthcare services and deploys emergency response teams in response to disasters.

Across the Caribbean and the US, International Medical Corps was a first responder during 2010’s Haiti earthquake; 2012’s Superstorm Sandy; 2016’s Hurricane Matthew in Haiti; 2017’s Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and Dominica; 2018’s Hurricane Michael in Florida; 2019’s Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas; 2020’s earthquakes in Puerto Rico; and 2021’s Hurricane Ida, 2022’s Hurricane Ian and 2023’s Hurricane Idalia in Florida, among other emergency response efforts. Over the past seven years, International Medical Corps has engaged partner networks of more than 275 hospitals, clinics and health-related facilities and NGOs across 18 states and territories, supporting more than 6 million patients and healthcare providers in the US.