How Red Cross Michigan volunteers are preparing for Milton

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — About two weeks after Hurricane Helene, the American Red Cross has shelters staffed and relief supplies prepared as Florida braces for another storm.

Hurricane Milton, which has been fluctuating between categories 4 and 5, is forecast to bring up to 1 foot of rain and 15-foot storm surges.

“If people from Michigan are seeing this, the Red Cross really needs your help. They need your support,” Harold West said.

Sixty-six Michigan volunteers , like West, are already in the southeast part of the country after Hurricane Helene caused a number of deaths and widespread damage.

“We’ve been very active for providing food for those who are in need and who have been impacted by the hurricane,” West said at a Tuesday briefing.

Red Cross volunteers are manning a large number of emergency response vehicles, also known as ERVs.

“I started in Tallahassee and now I’m down in Tampa,” West said. “We’re doing a pre-set up so that after Milton hits, we are going to be right out there in the community, ready to go.”

West has been with the Red Cross for seven years and plans to help with hurricane relief efforts as long as needed.

“We know that they really do need us and it makes you feel good to be able to help,” West said.

As Hurricane Milton rushes toward Florida, the main focus for the days ahead is “getting to those most impacted areas we can get into and making sure that we can have food for the people that need it there in these areas,” West said.

Volunteers are also helping people get connected with their loved ones.

“Unfortunately, hundreds of people are still missing, and damaged infrastructure is indeed making it difficult for those to communicate with loved ones,” said Latoysa Rooks, regional disaster officer for the American Red Cross, Tuesday. “If you are having trouble or connecting with a loved one, the Red Cross may be able to help. Please make sure you are visiting redcross.org .”

Volunteers like Stacey Ripley are helping to reunify people with their families.

“There was one daughter from Michigan that was very happy to be able to be reunited with family that she had been searching for,” Ripley said.

Becky Gaskin is from Flint and is working her first Red Cross deployment.

“We are still without power in South Carolina. So, we are still answering the call. It’s a lot of feeding. And we are not going to leave the area,” Gaskin said. “We have the disaster coming in Florida. We are going to support there, but we have all hands on deck in the Carolinas too. And it’s been an incredible honor to stand side by side all these Red Crossers.”

The Red Cross says besides time, the best way to help is with monetary or blood donations .

To donate, you can visit redcross.org . You can also use the American Red Cross emergency app to locate people in shelters.

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