Eight more volunteers with Red Cross Wisconsin headed to Texas as residents deal with flooding
MILWAUKEE -- The American Red Cross (Wisconsin) has deployed a total of 11 volunteers to Texas to support disaster relief efforts, as residents deal with flooding.
Two Red Cross volunteers left Milwaukee on Tuesday morning, November 3rd, and another six were packing their suitcases on Tuesday evening.
Two Red Cross volunteers are set to leave from General Mitchell International Airport on Wednesday morning. For one of those volunteers, this will be her first national deployment. She has been helping out in Ozaukee County for more than a year.
Two other volunteers will depart from Dane County Regional Airport, two from northwest Wisconsin, and two from northeast Wisconsin.
Texas is again preparing for another round of severe weather as more rain is forecast for this coming weekend.
The Lone Star State was battered by another series of severe storm systems this past weekend, resulting in tornadoes, flash flooding and power outages, on top of the previous rain from Hurricane Patricia almost two weeks ago.
The Red Cross said this in a statement to FOX6 News about their response in Texas:
"The American Red Cross is working closely with local government and non-profit partners in flood affected counties across Texas to meet the immediate needs of impacted families and help them begin their road to recovery.
More than 100 people spent Monday night in five Red Cross and community shelters.
Through our long-standing partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Red Cross and the Southern Baptists have set up a kitchen to provide mobile feeding and ensure families across the state have a hot meal to eat. Hundreds of Red Cross staff and volunteers have been hard at work serving more than 3,200 meals and snacks to residents in need in the last 24 hours.
The latest round of severe weather comes on the heels of flooding which occurred recently in Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Patricia. The Red Cross has been helping people since the flooding began, including:
- Opening a total of 25 shelters with more than 780 overnight stays
- Providing more than 10,300 meals and snacks
- Distributing more than 3,000 relief supplies
- Providing nearly 400 health and mental health services
- Deploying more than 300 disaster workers and 23 emergency response vehicles to help those in need.
While the storm systems have mostly cleared in Texas, our work is just beginning. The Red Cross will be there in the weeks and months ahead to help residents with one-on-one casework support so they can begin their journey on the road to recovery. As flood waters recede and residents begin to return home and assess damage, the Red Cross will be there to help them navigate paperwork, get access to financial assistance and start returning to normal life."