BUFFALO, NY, Monday, September 2, 2019 - The American Red Cross is preparing to help tens of thousands of people in the path of Hurricane Dorian as the extremely dangerous storm tracks towards the southeast coast of the U.S. While the exact path of Dorian is still uncertain, millions of people live in areas that could be impacted by wind, rain, flooding and a high storm surge, even if the storm doesn’t make direct landfall on the coast.
The Red Cross is coordinating with community partners and emergency responders to prepare evacuation centers for people who may seek shelter over the coming days. As many as 60,000 people in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina may need emergency shelter. We are mobilizing over 1,600 trained volunteers from all over the country, 110 emergency response vehicles and more than 99 tractor-trailer loads full of relief supplies, including cots and blankets.
Nine volunteers from Western and Central New York have been deployed to support the Dorian relief efforts (updates in bold):
NAME
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HOMETOWN
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LOCATION
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ACTIVITY
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Jim Collingwood
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Amherst
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South Carolina
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Logistics
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Harry Dashnau
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Baldwinsville
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South Carolina
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Sheltering
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Diane Dellacornio-Thomas
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Harpursville
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Florida
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Sheltering
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Nola Macallair
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Syracuse
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South Carolina
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Sheltering
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Christian Passela
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Bainbridge
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Florida
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Sheltering
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Sarah Perkins
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Pittsford
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Florida
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Disaster Assessment
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Tom Purnell
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Rochester
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Florida
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Government Operations
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Marvin Shandler
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Liverpool
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Florida
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Sheltering
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Richard Stirpe
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Webster
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Florida
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Sheltering
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Dorian is the strongest hurricane on record for the Northwestern Bahamas, bringing potentially catastrophic wind and storm surge. In preparation for Hurricane Dorian, 200 Bahamas Red Cross volunteers are on alert. The Bahamas Red Cross has pre-positioned relief supplies on the islands—such as tarps, hygiene items, jerrycans, and hand-crank radios and cellphone chargers.
