FLORIDA, USA — As Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Florida, the American Red Cross Region is deploying a team from Michigan ahead of relief efforts.
As of Monday, a team of 12 was sent to the Florida region to help staff Red Cross shelter locations. Officials say that number could increase in the coming days.
This is not the first team to travel outside of Michigan to help aid shelters in North America.
"We have ongoing boots-on-the-ground disaster relief operations across North America, from the wildfires on the West Coast to Typhoon Merbok in western Alaska to Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico. In addition, we’re pre-positioning teams in the gulf coast for Hurricane Ian,” said Darwin K. Roche, regional disaster officer for the Red Cross of Michigan.
As of Wednesday, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida as a Category 4 hurricane. More than 2 million people have been evacuated from their homes as heavy rains and wind gusts of up to 150 mph hit the coast.
“We’re grateful to our Michigan volunteers who will be providing support to our disaster relief efforts,” Roche said. “The Red Cross continues to monitor the situation closely and is working with our partners in Florida to pre-position volunteers and supplies ahead of Ian. We’ll have disaster teams and more relief supplies on the way to support those impacted by Ian.”
Information about Red Cross shelters can be found on www.redcross.org, the free Red Cross emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).
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