State Red Cross volunteers to aid hurricane victims

Public can help with donations

Six American Red Cross volunteers from the Connecticut and Rhode Island Region, including a Litchfield County resident, are deploying to the Southeast to help the tens of thousands of people in the path of Hurricane Michael, according to a Red Cross press release.

The release lists the volunteers as Laura Callahan of Milford, going to Tallahassee, Fla, to help with sheltering victims; Steven Thomas of Woodbury, going to Tallahassee, Fla., to assist with disaster services technology; Joe Apicelli of Groton, going to Tallahassee, Fla., to help with feeding victims; Cheryl MacKenzie of West Hartford, going to Macon, Ga., to help with sheltering; David Llewellyn of Niantic, going to Tallahassee, Fla., to help with sheltering; and Tamar Ghajanian of Wawrick, R.I., going to Tallahassee, Fla., to help with sheltering.

Michael is the second hurricane in just weeks to hit the Southeast. The Red Cross is trying to prepare people in Michael’s path while at the same time continuing recovery efforts in the Carolinas for families still suffering the effects of Hurricane Florence, the release said.

Michael is expected by some meteorologists to be the worst hurricane in recorded history. It will be life-threatening, according to the release, with strong winds, devastating flooding and storm surge as high as 12 feet in some places. Winds had reached 155 mph as it hit Florida's Panhandle Wednesday. The governors of Florida and Alabama declared states of emergency.

Brad Kieserman, vice president of disaster operations and logistics for the Red Cross, said in the release that “The Red Cross is working closely with state and local authorities in Florida, Alabama and Georgia to support evacuation centers for as many as 30,000 people who may need a safe place to stay during the storm.”

However, the release said, evacuation centers are meant to safely house people for only about 72 hours, until the storm passes and weather conditions improve. Such centers may not have cots, food, running water or electricity, the release said. If needed, local government officials may transition evacuation centers into emergency shelters if residents can’t return home after the storm passes. The Red Cross supports both pre-landfall evacuation centers and post-landfall emergency shelters with trained workers, shelter supplies and other aid.

The Red Cross is organizing trained volunteers, shelter supplies and other equipment, preparing to provide shelter for tens of thousands of people and looking to partner with organizations that can support the temporary placement of household pets, the release said.

Preparations for Michael are concurrent with the response to the recent Hurricane Florence in which more than 2,700 trained Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground in North Carolina and South Carolina, continuing to provide food, shelter and other relief services, the release said. As of Monday night, more than 560 people were still in 12 shelters, primarily in North Carolina. To date, the Red Cross and partners have served more than 1.53 million meals and snacks, and distributed more than 300,700 relief items throughout the affected areas, according to the release.

The public can help, the release said, with financial donations to provide disaster relief immediately. Visit redcross.org, call 1- 800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

“The Red Cross is working closely with state and local authorities in Florida, Alabama and Georgia to support evacuation centers for as many as 30,000 people who may need a safe place to stay during the storm.”

Brad Kieserman, vice president of disaster operations and logistics for the Red Cross