EVERETT — More than two dozen Snohomish County Red Cross volunteers are in the Gulf states helping the millions of people who were forced by Hurricane Gustav to flee their homes.
The volunteers are comforting people at shelters, delivering food and helping to manage the massive emergency response.
While the storm didn’t cause the catastrophic damage many feared, high winds and heavy rain were hampering some relief efforts.
“It’s making it quite difficult to do the job we need to do and want to do,” said Don Eager, 63, a Red Cross volunteer from Edmonds.
On Monday he was stationed at a warehouse across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. Power went out in the morning.
“We’re not sure when we’re going to get it back,” Eager said.
Teams were waiting for the winds to calm so they could drive a fleet of trucks carrying hot meals to people in shelters.
“We’re doing the best we can,” he said.
The effort is the largest Red Cross response since Hurricane Katrina blasted the area in 2005. More than 3,000 workers from around the country have opened shelters in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Officials are estimating the cost of the relief effort at around $12 million.
In north Texas, retired Everett firefighter Jack Robinson said people there were preparing for heavy winds and rain Monday evening.
He spent time on the Gulf Coast after Katrina ravaged the area. People were ready this time.
“Generally, I would say it’s very organized. It’s much better than what happened in Katrina,” Robinson said. “Nobody was prepared for that.”
Robinson is helping manage a shelter in Marshall, Texas.
In Shreveport, La., Tracy Tallman of Edmonds was caring for about 120 people who evacuated from their homes.
They were relieved that the storm didn’t cause more damage.
“It was nothing like what they were expecting,” she said. “They’re waiting anxiously to get back to their houses.”
Forecasts had predicted a storm potentially stronger than Katrina.
“It looked like another Labor Day weekend full of misery,” Tallman said.
As the storm made landfall Monday, it lost much of its force.
“It’s kind of like a Seattle blustery day,” she said. “Only it’s 80 degrees.”
More than 100 Red Cross volunteers from Washington have flown to the Gulf Coast. Volunteers from Sultan-based Pasado’s Safe Haven also went to the region to help rescue stranded pets.
Even though the storm didn’t cause the damage experts feared, the relief effort is likely to continue, said Kimberly MacArthur, the local volunteer coordinating sending people into the storm from the county.
If more people are needed, she’ll track them down and get them on an airplane.
“Right now, it’s just waiting to see what happens and where it happens,” she said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
