Delawareans respond to hurricane-related emergencies

Delaware’s response to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton has been significant as the weather emergencies continue on.

American Red Cross Delmarva Chapter Executive Director Theresa Young said a group of 20 or so volunteers assisted in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee to assist in recovery efforts from Helene.

“We had different people going to different places with different roles,” she said Monday.

On Wednesday, Delaware Gov. John Carney was to activate 100 service members and more than 40 vehicles from the Delaware National Guard to augment the Florida National Guard’s response to Hurricane Milton, a news release said.

Ms. Young said she arrived in North Carolina on Sept. 29 and the stay in the area could possibly last a month. There’s plenty to do, she said, since “The devastation here is pretty incredible.

“There’s a lot of infrastructure damage. There’s electricity in some areas but not all.”

Among other duties, Ms. Young said, American Red Cross members from the Wilmington-based chapter worked at shelters and served meals.

She also spent time in South Carolina where she said she drove a truck in a convoy to deliver supplies to “an upper mountain town” at one point.

Residents were washing their clothes in a river, she said, since running water wasn’t available in some areas.

Ms. Young lauded the volunteerism of American Red Cross contributors and said “From a community perspective you never know how resilient a community can be until the community has to be resilient.

“We were up in the mountains where if we couldn’t get in they couldn’t get out.

“When we finally did get in many of these communities have already decided who their community organizer was. They were pulling together to survive, they emptied their refrigerators to cook meals as a group.

“They did amazing things.”

Delaware Emergency Management Agency Director A.J. Schall said a 13-member crew of first responders from the state worked as a swift water rescue team in North Carolina for 12-plus hours in four days.

“They did everything from searching neighborhoods, to evacuating individuals with medical conditions, and unfortunately even a body recovery,” he said.

“This truly was an all-hazards mission and they were all humble in able to assist in such a disaster.”

The First State’s contribution to relief efforts weren’t limited to Hurricane Helene, though.

Hurricane Milton was expected to make landfall on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday night as a major Category 4 or 5 hurricane and the news release said “The storm could cause devastating damage due to dangerous storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and widespread flooding.”