Wisconsin volunteers prepared to deal with Hurricane Florence's impact

MILWAUKEE -- American Red Cross volunteers from Wisconsin left Tuesday, Sept. 11, headed for the Carolinas and Virginia ahead of Hurricane Florence, trained to deal with whatever comes their way.

Hillary Wanecke

Inside the Red Cross offices in Milwaukee, the volunteers prepared to deal with the impact.

"I'm going because I'm trained and I like helping people," said Hillary Wanecke, a Red Cross volunteer.

Wanecke sat through orientation as she geared up to help those who may need it most.

"I'll be working in a shelter, supervising a shift. It all depends on what is needed," said Wanecke.

Hillary Wanecke

Wanecke worked in hurricanes before -- most recently Hurricane Harvey in Houston. She is driven by compassion.

"It's a good experience. You know you're helping people," said Wanecke.

This time around, Wanecke geared up to head to Raleigh, North Carolina.

"That's one of the disaster headquarters, and then they'll figure out where staff is needed," said Wanecke.

As of Tuesday, 29 Red Cross volunteers from across the state were slated to head directly into the path of the Category 4 storm, a bit unnerving for some.

"The longer it sits out there, the more water it accumulates and that means more flooding," said Wanecke.

The assignment will have its challenges, but it is an assignment the volunteers said they're willing to take on.

"When it seems like the kind of situation you'd run away from, we have people who are running to because they care," said Justin Kern, Red Cross.

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