Yuma Red Cross sends volunteers to assist with Hurricane Sally
The Yuma office of the Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Red Cross has sent seven additional volunteers to Louisiana to help with Hurricane Sally relief efforts.
Hurricane Sally made landfall early Wednesday morning and is slamming the Gulf Coast with torrential rain and catastrophic flooding.
Red Cross spokesperson Charly McMurdie said the seven volunteers left for New Orleans from the Yuma International Airport at approximately 6:35 a.m. Wednesday.
Once on site, the volunteers will work together as a team to provide shelter for residents who have been displaced by storms.
“There is a huge demand for shelters in this area,” McMurdie said.
The volunteers will be deployed to the area for a period of two weeks, but the stay could be extended longer if needed.
McMurdie added that the Yuma Office of the Red Cross already had one volunteer in the area, who had been sent in response to Hurricane Laura, which hit southwest Louisiana last week.
She has been there for nearly two weeks, according to McMurdie.
The Yuma Office of the Red Cross is also continuously recruiting volunteers.to assist in times of disasters. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can apply online at redcross.org
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families.