The end of August in Maryland packed in both an earthquake and a hurricane. Our Colleagues members are a diverse group that range from organizations which care for a single site to local governments that care for all in their area. All our Colleagues were given the unenviable, and thankfully rare, task of needing to asses damage from one disaster while preparing for the next.
Before the storm hit, I sent out some links to resources, and now in the aftermath I have some updates. The Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) is still seeking damage reports from the earthquake. They are also now looking for reports on damage from Irene to historic buildings and archeological sites. This information is very valuable to MHT as it works on responding to these events. If you experienced damage from either Irene or the earthquake, please take a moment to fill out the form. MHT also set up a special page of its website with lots of links to hurricane and disaster resources.
As I stated in the pre-hurricane post, the National Trust also includes lots of preservation-related disaster information on its website. They have section on general disaster recovery and preparedness, a resource guide for hurricanes, tornadoes and wind and a guide to disaster preparation for homeowners. Lastly, they have advice on preparation for organizations and Main Streets and a guide for response from these groups.
This double-hit of natural disaster may also spur you to think about the future. If you do not have a disaster plan for your organization, the Maryland dPlan websitecan help you create one for free. The National Trust has outlined the case for preparation on their website.
I hope you and your site weathered these back-to-back hits from Mother Nature well. Stay safe and all the best wishes from everyone here at Preservation Maryland as you work to clean-up and prepare for future disasters.
Jessica Feldt
