Neighborly actions for the hurricane
It might be fine! But in case it's not.
We’re not actually back! But since Hurricane Henri is set to bring us some high wind and maybe some surface flooding, I thought the list would be a good tool for coordinating Providence-area cleanup and response if it turns out to be needed.
First things first: at 12pm today, Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris is meeting with people living at the Wilson St lot (at Fuller St) to talk about sheltering them in a hotel for the duration of the storm, and someone from the lot has asked that neighbors come out to witness this negotiation. (Riding out the storm in tents would be dangerous.) People living at the lot may also need help removing trash (so that it doesn’t fly around), packing up, and securing anything that they are leaving there. Trash bags, bungee cords and straps to secure large items, big plastic storage bins with TIGHT-FITTING lids would all be helpful here.
After the storm: So far, we have a decent team of Summit residents and a small core of west side residents (including me) eager to clean up debris and check on people, and one person who lives near Roger Williams Park who’s willing to help coordinate a Southside/Washington Park effort. If you live in any of these places and want to come out to clean up, please reply to this with where you’re living and I’ll share the coordination person’s contact info.
It would be good to have teams for Fox Point, Smith Hill, and Olneyville/Silver Lake. If you feel up to coordinating such a team, please let me know so I can put people in touch with you.
Of course you can also just make your own team by reaching out to people who you know live in your neighborhood, and that will probably work even better!
When to clean up depends on when the weather dies down, but if there’s anything at all to do, Monday or Tuesday afternoon will probably be good.
Some good things to locate ahead of time/see if anyone has:
Chainsaws for downed trees
Garbage bags
Work gloves and disposable gloves
Wet/dry shop-vac for basements (if there’s electricity)
Shelf-stable food that doesn’t need to be cooked, enough to share
Bleach or white vinegar for mold
Paper towels
Mops and buckets
In addition to removing debris and things like that, there may be longer-term support people need if power stays out for a while and/or there’s flood damage, and being in touch will be helpful for that too. Hopefully none of this will be necessary! But it’s good to be in touch in case—and this way people will have each other’s contact info for the next thing that’s like this.
With love
Kate