GEM USA Missions

On July 4th, Kerr County, Texas, was devastated by a catastrophic weather event as months’ worth of rainfall fell in just four hours. The resulting flash floods caused the Guadalupe River to overflow, severely impacting the communities of Hunt and Kerrville.

Community support is important for GEM to be involved in as we want to ensure we are not only making a positive impact globally, but locally in our own backyards too.

On March 15, multiple heavy tornadoes struck down in Missouri. These extreme storms took the lives of many and caused severe destructions across many communities. The GEM team responded immediately to Bakersfield and surrounding communities, and are on the ground now.

Early January 7th, the Santa Ana winds sparked wildfires throughout many areas of LA County. Most devastating have been the Palisades and Eaton Fires, destroying thousands of acres of land and thousands of homes & structures.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm, causing significant damage over many states on it’s path. North Carolina & Florida faced the most severe destruction, with billions of dollars of damage having been recorded.

On September 11th, Hurricane Francine made landfall in southern Louisiana as a category 2 hurricane. New Orleans was hit with a month’s worth of rain in just one day, causing significant flooding. The hurricane intensified rapidly before making landfall.

Hurricane Debby made landfall August 5th in Florida, USA. Hundreds of thousands of residents went without power and were directly at risk for major storm surges and flooding.

California’s biggest fire of the year is had caused extreme devastation throughout Butte, Plumas, Shasta, and Tehama County. The fire had burned more than the entire size of Los Angeles, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses.

The Smokehouse Creek Wildfire was Texas’ 2nd largest fire it’s history. Multiple major fires that have burned hundreds of thousands of acres, prompting evacuation orders in several counties. GEM is providing pallets of disaster relief throughout the affected regions to assist all those affected.

GEM is committed to an immediate and effective response to unexpected flooding across the USA in 2024. We stand ready to mobilize resources from our multiple branches, with an average response time of 24 hours.

Early January 2024 tornadoes tore through the Florida Panhandle, causing extensive damages to homes, boats, and businesses in many communities. The GEM team deployed from their Miami HQ with a truck of aid to assist those who were affected.

The GEM team was immediately on the ground after Idalia’s impact in August 2023. Trucks of aid were deployed, and the team distributed critical, large-scale supplies to Hurricane Idalia’s most affected zones in the Florida area.

The GEM team worked alongside the HARP team, offering resources & critical support to all those affected by the recent Oregon Road Fire, in Elk, Washington. BStrong cash cards were also given out to affected community members.

Hurricane Hilary made landfall in Baja California, Mexico on August 20th, bringing in extremely heavy rains. The flooding resulting from this rain destroyed roads and damaged infrastructure

The Lahaina fires in August 2023 completely devastated the Lahaina community on Maui, displacing thousands and taking the lives of over 100 people. The strong winds and dry conditions spread the fire rapidly through the historic neighborhood.

GEM is prepositioned to immediately deploy to flooding disasters in the United States throughout the year. We will be distributing trucks of Family Necessity Kits, water, hygiene, mattresses, and more to the regions affected.

Beginning March 25th in Mississippi and Alabama, the United States saw dozens of tornadoes touch down in multiple states. Many have lost their lives, and hundreds of others have been severely impacted by the substantial damage.

On January 28, a 75 unit apartment complex in Miami Gardens suffered major devastation due to a fire. More than half the units are completely destroyed, with the remainder being inhabitable due to extreme fire, smoke, and water damage.

Extreme rain throughout California left over 8 million residents under flood watch. After many areas of the state received over half their annual rainfall since just December 26th, flooding, mudslides, and extreme winds were all risks being faced.

On November 10,2022 Tropical Storm Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane along the east coast of Florida just south of Vero beach. Our team responded immediately following the storm prepared and ready to deploy whatever assistance is needed.

On September 24, 2022 CAT4 Hurricane Ian caused catastrophic damage along the SW coast of Florida leaving thousands of survivors devasted.GEM Bstrong, in partnership with Dade County, deployed teams, loaded trucks and established partnerships in the areas affected.

In late July, with 100’s of structures destroyed and at least four-related deaths the Oak Fire and McKinney Fire burn throughout California.

Severe flooding across eastern Kentucky and Missouri caused dozens of deaths. Homes destroyed and roads washed out, leaving communities isolated. GEM deployed to support these communities.

On May 24, 2022, a gunman fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers and wounded many others at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Over 1,000 firefighters backed by bulldozers and aircraft battled the largest active wildfire in the U.S. on Saturday after strong winds pushed it across some containment lines.

On April 29th a tornado that damaged more than 1,000 buildings in south-central Kansas generated winds up to 165 mph (266 kph) and carved a path of destruction nearly 13 miles (21 kilometers)

On January 9, 2022, a malfunctioning space heater was the source of an apartment building fire in the Bronx that killed 17 people including eight children, making it one of the worst fires in the city.

On December 10, 2021 in the night a violent, long-tracked tornado caused severe damage across parts of central and southern United States including Kentucky impacting numerous towns, including Mayfield, Princeton, Dawson Springs, and Bremen with a death toll exceeding 70.

On November 5th, 2021 a crowd surge at a Houston music festival turned into a deadly tragedy, with eight killed and many injured.

Due to the latest circumstances, homelessness in the United States has dramatically increased and as of 2021 there are currently 552,830 estimated to be homeless.

On August 26, 2021, late afternoon, the National Hurricane Center issued hurricane warnings for parts of coastal Louisiana including New Orleans. A Category 4 storm impacted the communities causing significant flooding reported.

On July 13 – October 25 2021 The Dixie and Caldor Fire was an enormous wildfire impacting seveal counties in California. The fire roared through entire towns such as Greenville and leaving hundreds of people stranded and homeless.

On June 24, 2021, at approximately 1:30 a.m. EDT, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium building in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, United States, partially collapsed.

At least five people are dead and there are reports of multiple injuries, authorities said, as tornadoes tore through Alabama Thursday afternoon.

On February 13 2021 Millions of Texans were without heat and electricity for days as snow, ice and frigid temperatures caused a catastrophic failure of the state’s power grid.

On January 16, 2021 a fire destroyed Tuluksak’s only source of clean, running water in this Alaskan tribal community.

CalFire has reported that California has lost 3.1 million acres, or about 4,844 sq miles (12,546 sq km), to wildfires since the beginning of this year. There are currently 29 major fires burning.

Wildfires have burned 1,500,000 acres of forest and numerous historic communities leaving entire towns in ashes causing over 500,000 people to evacuate with an ever-growing list of missing persons.

The 2020 hurricane season is ravaging the Gulf Coast. Tropical Storm Cristobal, Hurricanes Marco, Laura, Sally and impending Hurricane Delta have caused $15B+ in damages disrupting millions of lives.

On May 26, 2020, an ongoing series of civil unrest protests began across the U.S. that caused businesses to close and impacted local economies to a collective $500 million loss.

In January 2020, the COVID‑19 pandemic began in the United States and is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus.

On March 3, 2020, a deadly tornado outbreak affected West and Middle Tennessee, becoming the 6th costliest tornado in US history, and another that impacted areas in the western part of Cookeville.

In 2018, the wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive ever recorded in California. More than 7,639 fires burned an area of 1,893,913 acres causing more than $3.5 billion in damage.

On October 7, 2018, Hurricane Michael became the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the contiguous United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 causing $25.5 billion in damage.

On August 31, 2018, Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused catastrophic damage in the Carolina, as a result of freshwater flooding due to torrential rain.

On May 3, 2018, the Puna eruption was a volcanic event on the island of Hawaii, causing outbreaks of 300 ft lava fountains, flows, and volcanic gas, road deformation causing $800million in damage.

On September 11, there was a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States, where 2,977 lives were lost with more than 25,000 injuries.