The day after its emergency aid delegation returned from Puerto Rico, United Hatzalah sent a delegation to Florida in response to Hurricane Ian.
Israel21c Just over a week after United Hatzalah sent a mission to Puerto Rico to assist people affected by Hurricane Fiona, the Israeli voluntary emergency response organization dispatched a second relief team, this time to assist in Floridians following the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian.
“This is our fastest turnaround time ever for separate missions,” said Vice President of Operations of United Hatzalah Dov Maisel as the team departed from Israel on Saturday night, October 1.
The team that assisted in Puerto Rico had arrived back to Israel on Friday. Its Washington-DC-based leader, UH Director of International Emergency Management Gavy Friedson, also is leading the mission to Florida.
The Florida-bound volunteers under Friedson include EMTs and members of UH’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit. Their main task will be providing psychological first aid and emotional stabilization to people traumatized by Hurricane Ian. Medical care and humanitarian assistance will be provided as needed.
“When we saw the level of damage caused by Hurricane Ian and the fact that millions of people were forced to evacuate and suffered losses and damage, we knew we had to help,” said Friedson, who was a United Hatzalah EMT in Israel for many years.
This will be Friedson’s third hurricane relief mission, and his second in Florida, having also been a part of the relief team that assisted after Hurricane Irma struck Florida in 2017.
Nor is this the first international relief mission for most of the team members, who’ve previously provided emergency care in places such as Houston following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Pittsburgh following the synagogue shooting in 2018, Surfside following a building collapse, and Moldova during the refugee crisis at the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
When Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico in 2017, leaving the island in ruins – the first international aid workers on the scene were from Israel. Two years later, IsraAID was still on the island, helping the people recover and prepare for the inevitable storms that lie ahead.
Maria was a catastrophic storm. It hit the Caribbean in September 2017, barrelling into Puerto Rico as a deadly category 4 storm with torrential rain and winds of 150mph. It wiped out 95 percent of the island’s electricity and 80% of its agriculture, leaving huge swathes of the country with no clean water, creating a major humanitarian crisis.
Tim h says
Where’s that big omar doing. Not helping. Out them poor people out
Martelson says
This is but another reason – I stand with Israel. I never hear of Muslims like this, and doing work like this. The really disgusting thing is most Americans will never hear in the news coverage about it.
Linda Rivera says
Wow!
Providing CLEAN water is absolutely essential for survival. What a wonderful thing Israel did! And spending two whole years to help the desperate people in Puerto Rico is an act of great mercy and compassion!
God bless Israel!!!
No dark, evil powers on earth or in the universe will ever be able to extinguish the light that is re-born Israel. Israel’s light will shine forever and ever!!!
ed says
Won’t hold my breath wanting for a response from anywhere in the Muslim world.