TERRE HAUTE —
Local Red Cross volunteers currently working in the south are moving into positions where they can do the most good as flooding caused by Hurricane Isaac drenches several states.
While no longer a hurricane, Isaac has created massive flooding along the Gulf Coast, sending thousands of people into Red Cross shelters.
“The flooding is the main problem right now,” said Jane Walters of Brazil, a Wabash Valley Red Cross volunteer near the disaster’s front line in Alabama. “We’ve got a lot of water around everywhere.”
On Thursday, Walters was in central Alabama awaiting clearance to move into flooded areas further south. A veteran Red Cross volunteer, Walters said Isaac’s flooding impact was so bad because it the storm “just stayed in one place for so long.”
Four other Red Cross volunteers from the Wabash Valley chapter are also in the south. They include Don Gorrell, Brandy Clark, Wendy Taylor and Janice Hawkins.
Reached Thursday, Gorrell, who is piloting a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle, was headed from Florida to Hattiesburg, Miss., one of the hardest hit areas. Mississippi has been experiencing tornado warnings and lots of rain, Gorrell said.
“We’re going to be running into it, now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Taylor and Hawkins have been in central Florida training volunteers and sitting out their own share of tornado warnings this week, said Stephanie Land, emergency services director at the Wabash Valley chapter of the American Red Cross.
“They’ve really been helping the volunteers,” Land said. They have been working with dozens of volunteers to get people out ahead of the storm, she said.
Meanwhile, the local Red Cross is making its own preparations here at home as heavy rains from Isaac are expected to hit the Wabash Valley this weekend. Forecasters believe some areas of southern, central and western Indiana could receive up to seven inches of rain over a three-day period.
Wabash Valley Red Cross volunteers are “going to be extra alert” this weekend, Land said. “We’ll wait and see.”
Meanwhile, the Red Cross is always in need of new volunteers and monetary donations, Land noted. To help, call the agency at (812) 232-3393 or make a donation online at www.wabashvalleyredcross.org.
Reporter Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
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Valley Red Cross volunteers moving in behind storm
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