WXMI — When Hurricane Ian made landfall on Wednesday afternoon, Red Cross was already on the ground and ready for the response.
FOX 17 talked to Adam Castle, the Executive Director of the Southwest Chapter of Red Cross, soon after the hurricane hit Florida.
He said that volunteers and resources had been deployed earlier in the week, days in advance of the storm, so that responders could start working to address needs of the community right away.
READ MORE: West Michigan Red Cross readies for hurricane response
"We are in an all hands on deck mode," said Castle, adding that 24 Michiganders are among the volunteers already stationed in Florida.
Right now, he says that he's been in contact with the volunteers from southwest Michigan. They are currently safe in a hotel, out of immediate danger, but can see some early signs of storm damage.
Castle expects that more volunteers will be called in when the storm subsides. He says that volunteer recruitment can continue up to three weeks after a disaster, like Hurricane Ian, with new volunteers switching out with home-going volunteers.
Describing the daily tasks of a Red Cross volunteer, Castle told FOX 17 that Red Cross keeps a fairly standardized response.
"We'll have volunteers filing many capacities, from operating shelters, to driving around in the communities helping to provide damage assessment, to helping ensure safety to help passing on supplies and food," he said.
This makes for a very long day for the Red Cross volunteer, totaling 10-12 hours per day of work.
But this level of dedication is so necessary. Castle says that he has about 10 years of experience in disaster response and can testify that hurricanes are one of the most devastating disasters out there.
"It's long. It's typically days after the event occurs, that we're still assessing damage," he said. "The floods take a long time to recede, to go away. So there's certain areas that won't be accessible. So it'll be several days, if not weeks, until the full scope of the damage is assessed."
As he watches Hurricane Ian sweep across Florida, Castle is not only thinking about the coordination of disaster response. He's also feeling "deep concern and deep empathy" for the people who live there and will be personally affected by the devastation.
He says he's also thinking about keeping his volunteers safe, as they brave the storm, and is preparing to go down south as soon as the hurricane is over.
"We understand that it requires a degree of suffering for us to be activated," Castle acknowledged, but he said that Red Cross and the volunteers are nonetheless excited to pitch in.
"We're very privileged and honored to be in that space. And that's why we exist."
To volunteer or donate visit redcross.org.
