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PORTLAND – American Red Cross volunteers from Maine are heading to the Southeast to join Hurricane Dorian relief efforts. Volunteer Loraine Duclos, of Greenwood, is one of them.
Duclos is deploying to South Carolina as a shelter worker. She was part of Red Cross disaster responses in Texas for Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and last year in North Carolina for Hurricane Florence. (Her husband Paul is also a Red Cross volunteer; he left Friday for Florida, also to work in sheltering.)
Nine Maine Red Crosers are either in the Southeast or on their way. Seven are assigned to Red Cross operations in North Carolina, one to Georgia and one to South Carolina. They have roles in government operations, sheltering and disaster mental health. They are among the more than 1,600 trained volunteers the Red Cross is mobilizing from all over the country. The Red Cross is preparing to help tens of thousands of people in the path of Hurricane Dorian as the extremely dangerous storm tracks towards the southeast coast of the United States. While the exact path of Dorian is still uncertain, millions of people live in areas that could be impacted by wind, rain, flooding and a high storm surge, even if the storm doesn’t make direct landfall on the coast.
The Red Cross is coordinating with community partners and emergency responders to prepare evacuation centers for people who may seek shelter over the coming days. As many as 60,000 people in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina may need emergency shelter. In addition to volunteers, the Red Cross is mobilizing 110 emergency response vehicles and more than 99 tractor-trailer loads full of relief supplies, including cots and blankets.
Anyone wanting to assist the effort may visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text the word DORIAN to 90999 to donate to the cause. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster. This includes providing food, shelter, relief supplies, emotional support, recovery planning and other assistance. Ensure your donation helps people affected by Hurricane Dorian by choosing that option on redcross.org/donate or 1-800-RED CROSS.
