Hurricane Dorian Relief to Help Bahamas Locals Now

We are the Coral Vita  team, living and working in Freeport, Grand Bahama, where we restore dying local coral reefs. We're on the front lines of Hurricane Dorian, which is currently wreaking catastrophic damage here and on islands across the country.

Many of our neighbors' and friends' houses are completely destroyed and much of the island is under water. We've got our big truck ready to go, full of chainsaws, power tools, and other supplies, and we will be directly assisting people in need as soon as the storm passes.

The people and country of The Bahamas urgently need help and supplies as soon as possible. The government has limited resources compared with developed nations, and immediate outside help is critical. We will do what we can for now using the resources we have from our coral farm, but the people of The Bahamas urgently need your support so we can bring in supplies as soon as possible. We have access to a barge that is currently scheduled to arrive in Port Everglades, FL in the next ~48 hours, ready to be loaded with supplies and sent to The Bahamas as soon as the crossing will be feasible. 

Funds from this GoFundMe will go directly to purchasing and delivering emergency supplies to families in The Bahamas who have lost everything.

Through our local networks, we will be giving out: medicine, first-aid, water, generators, canned food, hygienic products, and other basic essentials. We already have a growing list of families who have lost their homes and are in need of essentials. After supplying critical goods, we will transition any remaining funds into long term rebuilding and relief efforts. 

This storm is a prime example of how we need to protect, restore, and create resilient coastal ecosystems that can adapt to climate change, shelter communities from natural disasters, and provide livelihoods for local populations. In the long term Coral Vita will continue to work to make that happen here and around the world, but for now we need all the help we can get to directly help those in The Bahamas in dire need. 

You can follow the story on instagram @coralvitareefs  and @samteicher 

Watch Sam and Joe talk to MSNBC  with the hurricane blowing around them on Monday afternoon.

Sam with Shep Smith  on FOX.