Omaha Red Cross heads to Florida for hurricane relief

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The Omaha Red Cross has sent a second wave of help to hard-hit parts of Florida.

People in that state are just beginning to clean up after Hurricane Ian wrecked parts of the state.

Red Cross officials in Omaha were preparing to help before the hurricane hit. They knew the people in Florida would need a lot of help.

Last week Omaha sent its emergency response vehicle and two people to Florida. Over the weekend more help arrived when four additional people from Omaha were deployed to Florida.

“As the need becomes more clear and after the storm made landfall, we knew how many shelters they’re going to have down there, how many people are going to need assistance from us,” said Josh Murray with the Red Cross. “The Red Cross was able to ask ‘oh we’re going to need these people to help,’ and we were able to locate volunteers who stepped up and said they’d be willing to help.”

Volunteers from Omaha will help out in the shelters, and the crew driving the emergency response vehicles will deliver food, shovels, tarps and other things to help clean up and comfort those dealing with this disaster.

The Red Cross here in Omaha expects to send more people to Florida. The people there will need a lot of help for a long time.

Money always helps during disasters, if you want to help you can donate by going to Red Cross’ website, or you can text 90999 and enter the name Ian to send a $10 donation to the cause.

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