Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, August 30, 2008 Red Cross sends help for Hurricane Gustav By Jackson Holtz, Herald Writer EVERETT -- More than a dozen Snohomish County Red Cross volunteers left for the Gulf Coast this week ahead of Hurricane Gustav, which already has killed dozens of people as it makes its way north through the Caribbean. Forecasters are predicting that the strong storm could make landfall anywhere from Texas to the Florida panhandle Monday, nearly three years to the day that Hurricane Katrina slammed into the area. Federal officials said a huge number of residents may be told to leave their homes today. Statewide, 37 volunteers have left for bases along some 200 miles of coastline that face the Gulf of Mexico, said Kris ­Krischano, a Snohomish County Red Cross spokesman. More help will be sent if necessary. Three years ago, when Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, 168 Snohomish County volunteers were deployed to the Southern states. "The Red Cross is better ­prepared to take on a storm of this magnitude because we've got better systems in place, more trained workers and more ­partnerships than we did prior to Katrina," Krischano said. They've mustered help from across the nation. "These disaster kind of events are in my blood," Jack Robinson, 61, a retired Everett firefighters said Friday. Reached on his mobile phone, Robinson was waiting on a plane to depart for Harlingen, Texas, near the Mexican border. Once there, Robinson's job will be to drive an emergency response truck that delivers meals and other supplies to people in need, he said. More than 200 such trucks are mobilizing in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, ­Krischano said. The Red Cross will have about 100,000 cots, twice that many blankets, and thousands of comfort kits and ready-to-eat meals available. Chuck Tudor, 64, went to the Gulf Coast after Katrina and saw the devastation firsthand. The retired Snohomish County sheriff's deputy was more than willing to drop everything Thursday. "They need some help down there, and if that's what it takes, I'll go back down again, and again and again," he said. When Mar Tobiason, 52, went to Shreveport, La., in 2005, she slept in a hangar and later on the floor of a shared hotel room. The Snohomish woman has helped in disasters far away and during floods and fires here in Snohomish County. She said it's rewarding to lend a hand to people who have nothing left. "I have seen what a difference it makes," she said. Sometimes, people need a place to stay or a meal, other times, a simple act of compassion. "Often all they need is just a big hug. It's just awesome," Tobiason said. "It makes me feel wonderful." Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.

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