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00:00Well, welcome to AccuWeather's Ask the Experts.
00:16I'm Bernie Raynaud.
00:17Whether you nerd out or you just want to know more about weather, we talk to some of the
00:24best minds in meteorology, space and science to get answers on everything you've wanted
00:30to ask.
00:31Here at AccuWeather, we work every minute of the day letting people know what types
00:35of weather to expect and what impacts they will bring.
00:40The number of extreme weather events leading to disastrous results is on the rise.
00:45More and more of us will deal with that sometimes helpless feeling about what to do after a
00:51storm or an earthquake or another natural disaster.
00:56In today's show, we will talk about a very special organization run by the United States
01:02military veterans that helps folks when they need it most.
01:07Joining us right now is Navy veteran and CEO of Team Rubicon, Art Delacruz.
01:13Art, thanks so much for being here and thank you for your service in everything that your
01:19organization does.
01:22Well thanks for having me, Bernie.
01:23It's my pleasure.
01:24All right.
01:25Tell us more about you and the work of Team Rubicon.
01:29Yeah, well, you know, I think I epitomize some of our volunteer experiences in that
01:35I spent 22 years in the Navy where I flew jets off aircraft carriers, but those 22 years
01:41gave me skills, experience and an education that I think are uniquely fit to help communities
01:48after disaster.
01:49And now for Team Rubicon, which is a veteran-led humanitarian organization that helps communities
01:55before, during and after disasters, these same military veterans use those skills in
02:01a different environment to help people on their worst day and hopefully help them prepare
02:06for the potential that you just outlined.
02:08Well, let's get more into that.
02:11Talk about the history of Team Rubicon.
02:14How did it get started?
02:16Who had the idea and how did you get rolling on it?
02:19Yeah, so the real catalyst was that terrible earthquake in Haiti in 2010.
02:24A U.S. Marine named Jake Wood, who was a co-founder, saw this unraveling, this devastation and
02:30this human suffering in Haiti and decided that his experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq
02:36in previous deployments looked familiar and he thought he could add value.
02:40A bit frustrated by some of the approaches and his welcoming from other organizations,
02:46he took it upon himself to deploy.
02:49He gathered seven other people who helped for weeks, helping thousands of people in
02:53Haiti.
02:54And since that time and that initial deployment of eight individuals, it's now grown to a
02:59volunteer force that's inclusive of not just military veterans, but also civilians, first
03:04responders and EMTs.
03:06But it's grown to over 170,000 volunteers.
03:09Wow.
03:10One hundred and seven.
03:11Oh, that is a lot of volunteers.
03:13And you mentioned it's just not for veterans.
03:17And I guess members continue to grow as you get as some of your work gets more and more,
03:24let's say, press.
03:26Yeah, I think it's it's not just the press, Bernie, as you articulated, you know, disasters
03:31are happening at a rapid clip.
03:33Last year in 2023 was a record year with twenty eight, you know, billion dollar disasters.
03:40So each of those disasters cost over a billion dollars to respond, which is, you know, under
03:45two weeks between those events.
03:47In addition, we found that every three days there are these smaller disasters, tornadoes,
03:52floods that aren't at that national scale that still need help.
03:56That's suffering for that homeowner or that family.
03:59If it's one, you know, family in the middle of Kansas after a tornado or thousands in
04:04Houston after a hurricane, the suffering is the same.
04:07And the ability for our volunteers to have impact is tangible in both those situations.
04:12Now, obviously, some of the biggest storms that you hear more about are the hurricanes.
04:17Can you talk about some of the areas damaged by hurricanes that Team Rubicon has responded
04:23to over the years and the work and assistance your team provided?
04:28Yeah, so Team Rubicon has a long history of responding to hurricanes.
04:34You know, Harvey, Irma, Maria, you know, those were massive sequences and, you know, a sequence
04:41of hurricanes that had incredible devastation.
04:44Most recently, Hurricane Idalia and Hurricane Ian in Florida.
04:49In each of these situations, the things that we're beginning to see are, you know, that
04:53these hurricanes are increasing in severity.
04:56We're seeing rapid intensification.
04:59We're seeing endurance over the area that's impacted with slower speeds.
05:04And that means there's more work to be done.
05:06And from mucking out homes to clearing debris, you know, to helping these families on their
05:10worst days, it seems like our work increases in both scope, severity and the time that
05:16we have to, you know, spend to aid in that recovery.
05:19I have to imagine it's a very bittersweet process for you because I suspect that some
05:26of the misery that you've seen must be pretty hard to fathom, but at the same time, it must
05:31be so rewarding when you're able to help others.
05:35Yeah, there's no doubt that it's rewarding.
05:38And, you know, I'm a firm believer that our volunteers don't do it to come across as heroes,
05:44but they certainly do it because they know they're having tangible impact in, you know,
05:49shaping someone's future trajectory in their lives.
05:51The amount of suffering you can alleviate for an individual or for a community in things
05:56such as getting kids back to school is absolutely incredible.
06:00You know, the Surgeon General released a report on the epidemic of loneliness last year.
06:07And in that document, he mentions volunteering as a means of, you know, well-being and finding
06:14self-improvement in connecting to community.
06:17And I think every one of our volunteers feels that because you certainly feel it when a
06:21homeowner gives you a hug, thanks you for the work you've done, and they can turn around
06:26and say, this is one less thing I'll have to tackle in my journey to being whole again.
06:31Now, not only are you helping rebuild and clean up after these disasters, but your team
06:35is also interacting with the residents of these impacted areas.
06:40Talk about a little about those interactions with people and who may just have lost everything
06:46on their own, everything they owned.
06:49Yeah, it's, you know, it's oftentimes a really, really, you know, terrible circumstance under
06:54which to meet these people.
06:55But we like to say, you know, you have to treat these survivors with compassion and
07:00empathy, understanding the myriad of different things they're going to have to navigate.
07:04So we try to aid them.
07:05We try to take some of the things off their plate by delivering all of these services at no
07:10cost to these clients.
07:11Again, it's fueled by the passion of the people who donate to support our mission and our
07:16volunteers who do all of this for free.
07:18Additionally, we're finding that a lot of the preparation can happen on the front end.
07:23So you mentioned communities, you know, very astutely.
07:26We're making, you know, connections and we're bonding with these communities well before
07:30the disasters so we can be prepared.
07:33And we're already talking to communities in Louisiana and Florida and all along the coast
07:38saying, listen, you have to prepare, even though it's February, July is right around the
07:42corner. Let's talk about tornadoes really quickly here and what kind of different
07:47challenges they present to your team.
07:50Yeah, I think tornadoes are absolutely amazing, unpredictable.
07:56They show up. Granted, you know, this warning system is extending the amount of
08:03preparation that they have, but it's really, really minimal.
08:06And the one thing about tornadoes is it's so indiscriminate in the amount of damage that
08:11happens to see tops of trees, you know, ripped off, to see cars flipped over, to see,
08:16you know, homes completely demolished is absolutely incredible.
08:21And it's also, you know, traumatic, obviously, for everyone in that community, those who
08:25are impacted and those who survive.
08:27And it's the damage is almost indescribable.
08:30And that's one of those times where I think our Sawyer work, our ability to move debris,
08:35our use of heavy equipment becomes really, really critical and access to help in the
08:39recovery to find the survivors, as well as to get the community back up on its feet.
08:46Our first question comes from Mike in North Carolina.
08:49Mike writes, how do you become a volunteer?
08:54Well, Mike writes, we'd love to have you amongst our ranks, and if you go to Team
08:58RubiconUSA.org, you simply sign up.
09:01And here's the important thing about volunteering is you can sign up and there's I
09:07will take a hundred no's.
09:08We'll contact you via SMS or email.
09:11You may not be able to serve at that moment, but I know in the future there's a time
09:15where anybody's skills can be utilized to help communities after disaster.
09:21And is there a quick way that they can volunteer?
09:24Is there a website or an email that they can request to become a member?
09:29Yeah, if they go to our website, which is Team RubiconUSA.org, you will see a way to
09:35donate. You'll see a quick link to a way to volunteer.
09:39Go ahead and hit that volunteer button and you'll run through the process.
09:43And there are very few barriers to being identified as a volunteer.
09:46And we look forward to you joining us in the field.
09:49All right. All right.
09:50Coming up later, do earthquakes occur more in the early morning?
09:56I hope not. That's when I get up in the morning.
09:58We'll let you know in our WeatherWise segment.
10:00We call it, is this really a thing?
10:04But coming up next, the work of Team Rubicon is the focus of a special series.
10:10We'll talk about that, plus the challenges of responding to a disaster.
10:15And of course, we're going to take more of your questions pertaining to Team Rubicon and
10:21how you can become a member and also what you can do to help them.
10:28All right. Stay with us. We're also going to answer more of your questions when Ask the
10:33Expert returns.
10:57Welcome back to AccuWeather's Ask the Experts.
11:01I'm meteorologist Bernie Raynaud.
11:03All right. We're back with Navy veteran and CEO of Team Rubicon, Art Delacruz.
11:08You know, Art, you recently part partnered with Roku for a TV series following Team
11:14Rubicon and Kevin O'Connor, host of The Old House on several missions to assist people.
11:20You know, it's pretty incredible as part of our long-term recovery efforts, we were
11:25rebuilding homes in Houston after Hurricane Harvey.
11:29And, you know, Kevin O'Connor happened upon our group working there and the rest is
11:34history. And they became, you know, an agent for our storytelling.
11:39Wow. And what was it like to work with Kevin O'Connor and Kevin O'Connor as a team?
11:45Yeah, I think it's one of those moments in time where we really benefited from the
11:50storytelling. I like to say, you know, we're the biggest organization nobody knows about.
11:55And I think Kevin O'Connor and that crew is helping us spread awareness, not just about
12:00the organization, but they're helping to educate the broader community about the
12:05importance of storytelling and how it's important for us to be able to do that.
12:10And I think it also raises awareness to the broader population that, you know, this could
12:15impact them.
12:17Did you notice a bump up in your popularity or even any kind of monetary value or people
12:24making donations to your group?
12:26Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I think it's one of those moments in time where, you
12:31know, we really benefited from the storytelling and how it's important for us to be able to
12:36do that. So did you notice a bump up in your popularity or even any kind of monetary value or people making donations to your group?
12:41Yeah, I think we saw benefits across all those different parts as members of our community.
12:45We saw people who donated more and we really saw a bump in people who said, you know what,
12:50after seeing these gray shirts do this work in the field, I feel like I can give my time
12:55and gifts and have impact in a community that's been hit by a disaster.
12:59Well, when we think about disasters, obviously we talk about hurricanes and tornadoes, but
13:05what other types of disasters does your team respond to?
13:09Well, I tell you, they seem to be coming in all different forms and fashions from flooding,
13:14you know, most recently in San Diego after the atmospheric rivers where we, you know,
13:19stayed for almost three weeks.
13:20We've got in addition to those tornadoes and hurricanes, we're already part of the fire
13:26mitigation and then fire fire after that wildfire fires, as well as, you know, the potential
13:32of different hazards associated with the hurricanes from flooding to debris removal,
13:38the downed trees, you know, all of those things are part of our equation as we move forward
13:43into this storm season.
13:45Well, you're talking about all the different disasters.
13:47And of course, in this country, there's not a country in the world that gets more natural
13:52disasters than the United States.
13:54Is there a particular disaster that is more challenging to respond to?
14:00Well, I tell you, they are all very unique.
14:03I think one of the ones that is really challenging is tornadoes, because frankly, you know, you
14:08don't know exactly where it's going to be, you know, in the unlike a hurricane where
14:12you have maybe 72 hours, you know, or days, potentially weeks of kind of preparation.
14:19You know, these things happen overnight or during the daytime and you have to be able
14:23to respond, which means the velocity in assembling the people, the equipment and the tools
14:28that you need to respond just has a different type of urgency.
14:31And therefore, the challenges that you might not see in other disasters.
14:35Is there any other memorable events or areas of the world that Team Rubicon has gone to
14:41help assist residents?
14:43Yeah, you know, most recently, some of our work internationally has been noteworthy.
14:48We were in Malawi and Morocco in 2023.
14:51So on the other side of the world and able to deliver, you know, services, medical service
14:56as well as well as water, sanitation and hygiene that's really helping these events.
15:01But more broadly speaking, what's memorable about each and every one of these responses
15:06is an understanding that volunteers have incredible impact for people who have
15:11potentially no other options in their recovery.
15:14Any preparedness advice you can offer residents when it comes to making sure they are
15:19prepared for an event like a hurricane, tornado or flood?
15:24Yeah, this is this is my simplest advice to anybody who might be impacted by a hazard is
15:29put yourself in a position where should it hit, you can say, I'm glad I did.
15:34Right. Instead of I wish I had.
15:36You know, the reality is preparation on the front side is going to drastically reduce the
15:41impact of these hazards.
15:42You know, have your documents ready, have a plan.
15:45You know, if you're in an earthquake zone, have your car and your kit and your food at
15:49your home. All of these things are things that you will be thankful that you did.
15:53So take a moment to prepare and, you know, leverage the resources, you know, in places
15:58like FEMA and through your local agencies.
16:01All right. Our next question comes in from Susan in Kentucky.
16:04Susan writes, I'm familiar with Team Rubicon's response after a disaster, but tell me
16:10more about how the team's helps community communities with disaster preparedness.
16:17Yeah, so thank you for that question, you know, our mission statement is to help
16:22communities before, during and after.
16:24And this preparation that we just talked about is something that we do.
16:28We'll do things as an example of fire mitigation, where we'll clear fire hazards, you
16:33know, before the fire season, where we'll in other situations for flooding, where we
16:38will take down trees and we'll do work in areas that have burn scars to prevent mud
16:45flows. So all of this work done ahead of time, which is can be as complex as these, you
16:50know, massive operations to cut down trees and as simple as going door to door with our
16:55neighbors and saying, you know, let's make sure we're prepared for a incoming
16:59hurricane. All of those preparations before the hazard arrive will have incredible value
17:05and as an investment in your personal recovery and the cost of the overall recovery.
17:10As we say, always be prepared, don't be scared.
17:14All right. That'll wrap up our question and answer segment.
17:16I want to thank Navy veteran and the CEO of Team Rubicon, Art Delacruz.
17:21Art, thanks so much for your service and we thank you for everything the team Rubicon
17:26does. Thank you, Bernie, for having me and sharing our story.
17:30All right. Now, don't forget, when you have a question about weather, space or science,
17:34you can write us or send us a video question at Ask the Experts at AccuWeather.com.
17:40You can also call us, ring, ring, 888-566-6606.
17:47All right. Coming up next, are we seeing more earthquakes now than ever before?
17:52We're answering that question and more on segment as this really a thing.
17:56We'll be back after the break.
18:04And welcome back to AccuWeather's Ask the Experts.
18:08I'm Bernie Raindow. It's time for WeatherWise.
18:10And in this version, we ask, is this really a thing?
18:14In other words, are common ideas about weather events, fact or fiction?
18:19Today, we look at earthquakes and some things you may have heard about them.
18:24So let's start with this.
18:25Do earthquakes occur more often in the morning?
18:29According to the U.S.
18:30Geological Survey, earthquakes are equally as likely to occur in the morning or the
18:35evening. Large magnitude earthquake of any kind can strike at any time through the day.
18:42All right. Next up, are earthquakes becoming more frequent?
18:45Research shows the number of earthquakes with magnitude seven or greater has remained
18:50fairly constant. According to long-term records kept since 1900, we can expect 16
18:56major earthquakes in a given year.
18:59The National Earthquake Information Center says there is no evidence the frequency of
19:03seismic activity has changed.
19:06And finally, should you go outside doing an earthquake?
19:10Well, if you're indoors, stay there.
19:12The USGS says get under a desk or table and hang on until the earthquake shaking stops.
19:19Research shows most injuries happen when people in a building move around or attempt to go
19:24outside and are hit by debris.
19:26So wait to exit.
19:28All right. Thank you for joining us on AccuWeather's Ask the Experts.
19:31I'm Bernie Raindow. Don't forget.
19:33When you have a question about weather, space or science, you can write us or send us a
19:38video question at Ask the Experts at AccuWeather.com.
19:42You can also call us at 888-566-6606.