Volunteers with the Red Cross are mobilizing for landfall of Hurricane Matthew this weekend - and some volunteers will be traveling from North Dakota.
Jessica Kulzer is the disaster program manager for the Red Cross. She says a volunteer team is leaving from Fargo today with an Emergency Response Vehicle for Tallahassee, Florida. She says volunteers are also leaving from Minot.
"Currently we just have them filled with cambros for feeding, that's what these emergency response vehicles are usually used for - is some of that respite care, like food and water and hydration. And currently it's bare bones - so when they get down there, they will be stocked full of whatever will be needed at Headquarters. Dependent on what occurs with the storm, they'll take it from there and do whatever needs to be done."
Hurricane Matthew is not expected to make landfall in the United States until tomorrow evening, but Kulzer says it's vital that volunteers arrive by the time the event starts.
"We've seen what is currently going on down in Jamaica and areas like that, so we have individuals prepared and ready so when the event does occur, if it should, that we get there. And it is paramount that we get there as soon as possible. Volunteers were informed last evening that they were going to be deployed as soon as possible and right away this morning we already have volunteers showing up at the Red Cross, preparing to go. It's been a quick process, but they're quick packers - and we're hoping everyone gets there safely, and everything goes okay."
Kulzer says despite the seriousness of the situation, it's always good to see people coming together to help each other in times of crisis. She says depending on how the hurricane affects the region, more volunteers may be called upon to deploy at a later time.