Around a dozen Iowans are among the more than 500 Red Cross volunteers from around the country who are making their way to Louisiana where thousands of people have been forced out of their homes by flooding.
It’s likely to be the worst natural disaster in the U.S. since Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Kara Kelly is spokesperson for the Red Cross in central Iowa.
“Primarily, the Red Cross workers who are headed down from Iowa right now will be working in emergency shelters, feeding people, driving Emergency Response Vehicles around to neighborhoods that are not under water and getting food to people and perhaps relief supplies,” Kelly said. At least a couple of specialized Red Cross vehicles from Iowa will also be in the Gulf.
“We have two Emergency Response Vehicles, one that is based in Dubuque and one that is normally based in Burlington, that are already on the road to Louisiana,” Kelly said. The federal government has declared a major disaster in Louisiana, where at least 11 people have died in the severe flooding and 30,000 people have been rescued from flooded homes and vehicles.