"Before the hurricane hit, people were thanking us for being here,” said Sherri Arnold of the American Red Cross Arizona.
She arrived in Florida Monday and has been on a ground stop in Tallahassee until the storm passes.
Red Cross officials are in constant communication with their deployed volunteers standing by at evacuation shelters.
“We have a pre-landfall crew that's already been deployed,” said Edgar Olivo, with the American Red Cross of Arizona and New Mexico. He said, “About 11 of them are from Arizona and New Mexico."
In total, 500 American Red Cross volunteers are in Florida.
Arnold's job is to assess damage when there’s a disaster.
“When we're talking hurricanes, it's usually going to be water damage and also wind damage,” Arnold explained.
From there, she will enter the information into a database and then a family who is affected will reach out to the American Red Cross to see what immediate relief they can receive.
“Even just visiting people sometimes that's really what people need is someone to talk with for a minute and get a hug,” Arnold said.
She attests her heart of service to being a retired police officer.
“Knowing that there are humanitarians in our communities who are ready to stand up and get on a plane and go to where the biggest need is felt,” Olivo said.
Once Idalia passes, the Red Cross will send more volunteers or resources to bring additional support as needed.
“We used to respond to about a billion-dollar disasters about every 18 months,” Olivo said. “Now it's every 18 days. And so that is just kind of a stark comparison of where we're at today and how the climate crisis is compounding.”
If you would like to help by volunteering, donating money, or giving blood, go to RedCross.org.
