voornaam, Hurricane Dorian has ravaged the northern Bahamas, leaving the islands with damage that has been compared to that of a war zone. The death toll is climbing, countless are still reported missing, and more than 70,000 residents are homeless. Homes across the Abaco islands have been reduced to wood shavings, metal shards, and crumbled cinder block. Many of those who survived are left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Further, the islands' infrastructure has been decimated: roads washed out, gas stations leveled, power plants destroyed. Outside of Freeport, Grand Bahama Island's biggest city, cell phone service is scarce. Without power, transportation or communication, aid is slow to come to those who need it most. Our partners in Florida like Make the Homeless Smile, Third Wave Volunteers, Puerto Rico Rises and Waterkeeper Alliance, are working tirelessly to rush relief to refugees who have already arrived in Florida and those who remain trapped in the Bahamas without food, clean water, or shelter. Can you rush a donation now, to help those whose situation literally becomes more desperate by the hour? Please, rush an emergency gift to the Sierra Club's Hurricane Dorian relief efforts now. 100% of your donation will go directly to community-led recovery efforts in areas affected by the most devastating storm to hit the Bahamas in a generation. While rescue and recovery workers tend to the thousands trapped on the islands — many of them Haitian refugees from the 2009 earthquake — workers and experts on the ground are only beginning to assess Dorian's environmental damage. The South Riding Point oil storage facility, damaged during the storm, has leaked a yet-unknown — some are calling it "catastrophic" — amount of oil into the surrounding environment, posing enormous risk to the area's reefs and wildlife; groundwater contamination and fires are additional immediate concerns. Meanwhile, less than 100 miles away in Palm Beach, Florida, refugees who've arrived by humanitarian rescue boats, without any personal belongings or cash, struggle to figure out what is next; short-term relief as well as medical care and employment will be crucial. We are determined to support our Florida-based partners in their humanitarian efforts and with so many struggling just to survive the next week, or even the next day, we need your help right now. Please contribute what you can to support our Florida-based partners in their relief efforts. Your gift will help save lives in the wake of this truly unbelievable disaster. voornaam, Dorian has laid bare the human cost of environmental injustice. While the entire country was affected by this generational storm, the most vulnerable Bahamians — day workers, the unemployed, poor families — have suffered disproportionate destruction and death. We are counting on the empathy and generosity of Sierra Club supporters like you to make a difference in the Bahamas and support the refugees who have made it to Florida. We'll keep you updated on our efforts and in the meantime, thank you for any help you can offer. Sincerely, Alyssa Cadwalader
Sierra Club, Florida Chapter Chair Frank Jackalone
Sierra Club, Florida Chapter Director Photo: U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Stanton. | 
