Louisiana Red Cross deploys volunteers to assist with Hurricane Debby aftermath
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Hurricane Debby may have spared Louisiana, but that doesn’t mean the Louisiana Red Cross won’t be in the center of the aftermath.
As Debby sweeps across the Southeast, the storm has already made a deadly impact in Florida where at least four people are confirmed dead, including a 13-year-old boy.
“The young man was asleep in his bedroom, and that’s where the major impact was” Levy County Sheriff Bobby McCallum told WFTV.
In New Orleans, the parking lot at the Louisiana Red Cross office was nearly empty Monday afternoon. Hours earlier, volunteers, along with three emergency response vehicles, were deployed to help in the aftermath of Debby.
“As well as the water and food, they also will have emergency assistance cards, so the volunteers with the vehicles will be able to provide financial assistance as well,” said Louisiana Red Cross CEO Kenneth St. Charles.
Three volunteers were sent to Florida, and six volunteers were sent to Georgia with more deployments expected this week.
“From those vehicles, it will move up the East Coast, and it will bring damage and torrential rains all the way up the coast,” St. Charles explained. “So, we will be moving these vehicles and shelters based on the greatest need.”
The Red Cross chief executive officer says his team is also keeping an eye on the tropics in case Louisiana finds itself in a storm’s path.
“These are hurricanes that we are preparing for, practicing for, but our practice is really sort of ongoing,” St. Charles said. “We’re always in a preparation mode to respond.”
You can sign up to be a volunteer or make a monetary donation on the Red Cross website.
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