Stop sending donated goods to hurricane zone

Well-meaning people people who want to help Florida Panhandle hurricane victims should avoid going to the hard-hit region or sending donated goods in that direction, officials said Friday. “Please DO NOT COLLECT donations of goods at this time,” county officials wrote. “There are many donations flowing into Bay County and it is IMPEDING rescue efforts.” Escambia County learned during Hurricane Ivan in 2004 that many donated items can go unused, said Joy Tsubooka, spokeswoman for Escambia County. “We had a lot of things that came in unsolicited, and they ended up in the landfill,” she said. Tsubooka said deliveries of large amounts of used clothing, blankets and random food items take time for volunteers to sort, store and distribute and can take time away from other important tasks. She encouraged anyone who wanted to make a donation to visit a list of organizations vetted by the state at bit.do/hurricanemichael. Recovery efforts also have been hampered by sightseers and others who shouldn’t be in the area, said Mike Wood, spokesman for the Pensacola Police Department. Wood encouraged people with specific skills that could be useful in the recovery process to visit the state’s volunteer site at volunteerflorida.org. “It is the worst damage I have ever seen. If they drive over that way right now, there is a good chance they won’t even be let in, and it will be a wasted drive,” he said. Wood said that search-and-rescue efforts still are underway, and many of the hardest-hit areas still are not accessible. “It is a very dangerous place to be, and they are trying to focus on the residents in that area. Well-meaning people can end up causing chaos,” Tsubooka said. “They are even asking residents who evacuated to stay away.” While money is always the best way to help, professional organizations and organized faith-based groups with a history of disaster response will be appropriately collecting items that are needed and getting them to the right place when the time is right.

BRANDON GIROD/USA TODAY NETWORK The roof of Jordan Slaughter’s apartment was ripped apart, leaving the apartment vulnerable to severe water damage, during Hurricane Michael.