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August 29, 2012

Valley Red Cross volunteers wait for Isaac, instructions

Flooding expected to be main concern

Arthur Foulkes The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Terre Haute-area Red Cross volunteers already in the south will learn today where they will be stationed to provide help to those affected by Hurricane Isaac.

Wabash Valley Red Cross volunteers were dispatched to Florida last week to await the powerful storm, which was expected to strike the gulf coast Tuesday night and today.

Volunteers Don Gorrell and Brandy Clark were stationed in Tallahassee, Fla., on Tuesday morning awaiting instructions today regarding where they will be stationed next. The storm has moved west from its initial path over the past several days.

Isaac, packing winds of up to 80 mph, is expected to cause flooding across five gulf coast states, said Carol Stevens, executive director of the Wabash Valley Red Cross. Some areas already have been evacuated and the American Red Cross was already housing 800 people in 50 Gulf Coast shelters, she said.

“This is probably going to be a big flood event,” Stevens said.

Even ahead of Isaac the weather has been dangerous. Wabash Valley volunteers in Florida have twice had to seek shelter due to tornado warnings, Stevens said.

Volunteers Wendy Taylor and Janice Hawkins, also from the Wabash Valley Red Cross, have also been deployed to Florida to await the storm. They could not be reached Tuesday.

Since Hurricane Katrina, which devastated much of the gulf in 2005, the Red Cross has enhanced its emergency response systems, Stevens noted. The organization has increased its number of emergency shelters in hurricane-prone areas. It also has strengthened its coordination with other relief agencies and increased its ability to provide hot meals, she said.

“This could be a fairly large and long-term situation,” Stevens said, adding that flooding is a particularly bad form of natural disaster because people are unable to return to their homes for such a long time.

“Flooding is just a horrible, horrible disaster,” Stevens said.

Meanwhile, in Florida, volunteer Gorrell, who is operating an Emergency Response Vehicle, said he and his fellow volunteers are eager to start helping.

“Everybody’s waiting to get in on the action,” he said.

Reporter Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.

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