Before Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana Sunday morning, volunteers with the American Red Cross — including some from the Augusta area — were already in place to help those impacted by the storm.
“We currently have three from Augusta already there,” said Susan Landreth-Everitt, executive director of the American Red Cross of East Central Georgia, which is headquartered in Augusta.
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The three left Augusta Saturday. Landreth-Everitt will leave Monday morning for Mobile, Ala., to support efforts in there. Should she not be needed in Alabama, she will be moved to the “area of greater need,” she said. Another 23 volunteers from Georgia are part of the effort. The other Georgia Red Cross representatives are in Mississippi and Louisiana.
The American Red Cross helps during a natural disaster in a variety of ways.
She said there are about “600 Red Crossers helping with Hurricane Ida.”
Prior to landfall, they set up evacuation shelters, providing food, cots, blankets and basic hygiene products.
After the storm has passed, Red Cross volunteers help with damage assessment, riding through neighborhoods and taking photographs which are shared with state and local officials.
Also, Red Cross representatives help with assessing “pockets of concern,” she said.
During a hurricane last year, Landreth-Everitt said there was an area in Pensacola, Fla. that was prone to flooding and leaving people without a way to get into a safe zone.
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“We were making sure everyone got out,” she said.
Besides working to provide basic needs during a disaster, the American Red Cross helps with the mental health aspect.
“They are there to be listeners,” she said. “People want to know someone cares.”
Landreth-Everitt said she knows Augusta cares about its neighbors in other states. Whenever there’s a disaster, she sees an outpouring of generosity.
People can help by donating blood.
“People get injured, and there are no blood drives going in that area,” she said.
And they can donate financially.
Because the American Red Cross has been providing disaster relief services for more than a century, the organization tries to anticipate the basic needs of fresh water and food.
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Donations can be made online at redcross.org and people can choose the area they’d like their donation to go to. For those who still like to write checks, they can be dropped off at the Red Cross office at 1322 Ellis St.
Also, the organization is always looking for volunteers. To learn more about volunteer training, visit the website.
Landreth-Everitt said the local volunteers will likely be deployed two to three weeks, and then a new set of volunteers will head to the area.
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It’s for the volunteers’ mental health, she said. Disaster relief begins early in the morning and goes into the evening. After a couple of weeks, volunteers need a respite. Another group of volunteers are cycled in.
She anticipates the Red Cross will be needed for several weeks if not months depending on the storm damage of Ida which was a Category 4 hurricane when it hit.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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