PHOTO: At only two months old, Isaac, has survived Hurricane Laura. Isaac rests at an American Red Cross shelter in Alexandria, La., on Aug. 28. Red Cross volunteers from Maine have traveled to Louisiana to help. (Submitted photo)
PORTLAND — American Red Cross volunteers from Northern New England continue to deploy to major disasters this week, including a couple from Augusta heading to Louisiana on Tuesday to join disaster relief efforts for Hurricane Laura.
Betty and Glenn Adams of Augusta will report to Baton Rouge, La., as shelter workers on Sept. 1.
This is the first Red Cross deployment for Betty and Glenn, who have recently trained up in a couple of different volunteer roles with the organization. Both are retired journalists, she from the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and he from The Associated Press Maine State House bureau.
The couple joins an operation that already involves nearly 1,000 trained Red Cross disaster workers who are on the ground or supporting the effort virtually.
Hurricane Laura left terrible devastation in its wake in Louisiana and Texas. While the full extent of damage isn’t yet known, preliminary estimates indicate that thousands of homesmcould either be destroyed or have major damage across Louisiana and Texas.
Hundreds of thousands of people are without power or water as the region copes with the compounding effects of heat advisories and the coronavirus pandemic. Many roads are still closed due to downed trees and power lines, making access into some of the hardest hit areas challenging.
Saturday night, various agencies helped about 20,000 people stay in emergency lodgings, including shelters and, in some instances, hotels. As people are allowed to return to their local communities after evacuating, the Red Cross will help to ensure they have a safe place to go. The Red Cross has teams of volunteers circulating through accessible areas to assess damage and provide ready-to-eat meals, water and snacks.
