Community Organizations Active in Disaster bustling with activity following Hurricane Michael

Oct. 17--ALBANY -- After learning from the severe storms that hit Albany last year, Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) knew what to do after Hurricane Michael hit.

Many in the community are responding to the organization's call for volunteers, just as they did before, but tremendous need still remains in the community, according to officials with the relief collective.

"We are crawling with volunteers," Sherrell Byrd, the spokeswoman for COAD, said. "COAD is what is bringing everyone together.

"This a huge undertaking this time."

Byrd said COAD's efforts, via Albany Relief and Recovery, never really stopped following the January 2017 storms. Active efforts ceased in August, giving the agency a two-month break before the hurricane. The Salvation Army, alongside other faith-based organizations, have jumped on board -- and the chainsaw groups hit the ground running immediately.

"The response has been a lot swifter this time," she said.

Initially focused on getting trees off of roads, the chainsaw groups are now focused on houses, provided homeowners have been in touch with their insurance companies to file a claim and talk to an adjuster first.

"We are flooded with calls all day," Byrd said.

The undertaking is even bigger than in 2017 because those storms impacted specific areas, while Hurricane Michael had some level of impact on everyone in the southwest Georgia region. The focus of COAD has primarily been on Dougherty County, but the intention is to collect enough resources to expand into other areas.

"We are getting calls from everywhere, from Dawson and Camilla," Byrd said.

COAD is in touch with the Salvation Army, which has operations in nine counties. Samaritan's Purse and Billy Graham Ministries are set up at COAD's headquarters, which is at the former Coke plant at 925 Pine Ave.

Samaritan's Purse has 30-minute training sessions for first-day volunteers at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. before going out into the community to remove fallen trees from properties and houses. The humanitarian organization is taking work orders and coordinating volunteer efforts.

"We are staying busy," Samaritan's Purse Program Manager Shannon Daley said. "We need volunteers.

"Everyone has been super welcoming, and we have made a very smooth transition."

As is the case at any disaster site, residents of Albany are hurting. That fact has been evident to Daley, who said Samaritan's Purse will remain in the area as long as work orders are coming in.

"If it is you, it is big," she said. "(The people in Albany) are resilient, but they still need help.

"(The public and Albany area government) are very welcoming and very eager to have us here."

___

(c)2018 The Albany Herald, Ga.

Visit The Albany Herald, Ga. at www.albanyherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.