At least 16 counties in Florida are under mandatory evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Helene, which is expected to make landfall Thursday night around 8 p.m.
Helene is projected to strengthen to a Category 4 hurricane by the time it makes landfall.
To assist with ensuring safety for Florida and Georgia residents, the American Red Cross is coordinating efforts to send about 275 trained volunteers to assist — what’s expected to be an all hands-on deck situation.
In Ohio, The Red Cross deploys volunteers and trained disaster workers who are able to help people with sheltering and feeding and with assessing damage once the storm moves through and with just providing comfort for people who are forced to flee from their homes.
Supplies have also been prepositioned in trailers to aid impacted residents during these extreme weather events. But without donors and volunteers these efforts wouldn’t be possible.