After Hurricane Isaac came ashore on the Gulf Coast, 21 South Carolina volunteers were on location to help with relief.
South Carolina shelter team members, Bob Levangie, Steve Becker, Beverly Blackwell, Collen Rumble and Pam Plunkett prepare to move into Lafayette, LA after Hurricane Isaac made landfall.
In total, the Columbia Region, which includes 28 counties from Aiken to Horry, has deployed 21 volunteers and expects that number to continue to grow. Red Cross officials say additional local volunteers and five Emergency Response Vehicles are on stand-by, ready to deploy if needed.
“This is a very large relief response that will last a long time,” said Scott R. Salemme, regional chief executive officer, American Red Cross, Columbia Region. “The Red Cross will be working for weeks to help people recover from Isaac. After a difficult summer of responding to wildfires, power outages and floods, Red Cross resources are stretched.”
The Red Cross released the following statistics:
-Wednesday night, more than 4,700 people stayed in as many as 80 Red Cross or community shelters in seven states.
• More than 3,000 trained Red Cross disaster workers from all over the United States have deployed to the Gulf region to help.
• As of Wednesday night, the Red Cross has served more than 22,000 meals and snacks and has 311,000 more ready-to-eat meals and kitchen support trailers in the area.
• Before Isaac struck, the Red Cross positioned 197 emergency response vehicles, additional volunteers and trailers of relief supplies just outside the impact area; we have begun to move assistance into the affected communities.
• In the days ahead, the Red Cross will be providing people with food, water and supplies such as clean-up and personal hygiene items, cots, blankets, coolers, shovels, rakes, tarps, gloves and masks.
The American Red Cross, Columbia Region, spans 28-counties in South Carolina from Aiken to Myrtle Beach.
