International Medical Corps is prepared to deploy disaster response experts to provide lifesaving assistance as Hurricane Irma makes its way across the northern Caribbean and barrels toward southern Florida. Teams have already been established and stand ready to assess needs and provide lifesaving relief in the aftermath of the storm.
Though the majority of International Medical Corps’ relief efforts take place overseas, the organization does respond to disasters in the United States in extreme situations. With domestic resources stretched after Hurricane Harvey, International Medical Corps is deploying a team to Florida to assist in the southern U.S., should it be needed.
“We have mobilized staff and supplies so we will be ready to deploy to some of the hardest-hit areas to provide lifesaving care in the wake of this devastating storm,” said Ian Rodgers, International Medical Corps’ Director of Emergency Response and Preparedness.
One of the most intense storms in recorded history, Hurricane Irma’s peak winds clocked in at 185 mph. The storm has left at least 17 dead across the Caribbean. Its trail of destruction has left more than 900,000 people in Puerto Rico without power, while Barbuda and St. Martin suffered widespread damage.
Irma is expected to fluctuate in intensity over the next two days but remain at least a Category 4 storm until it makes landfall in Florida on Sunday morning.
A pre-eminent first responder for more than three decades, International Medical Corps has extensive experience providing medical care and other lifesaving relief in the aftermath of disasters, including Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.