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Red Cross responds to Hurricane Florence

Photo Provided Two Red Cross volunteers load water and supplies into a response truck for relief efforts after Hurricane Florence. The hurricane has reached the coast of the Carolinas with storm surges up to 13 feet and rain amounting to more than 3 feet.

PARKERSBURG — The American Red Cross is responding across multiple states as Hurricane Florence begins to pound coastal and inland communities, according to an update on disaster response from a local agency official.

The storm, which has reached the coast of the Carolinas, is causing storm surges as high as 13 feet and rain up to 40 inches in some areas, according to the update provided by Sharon Kesselring, executive director of the American Red Cross Northwest West Virginia Region.

Flooding from rain as the storm moves inland is a concern in West Virginia where the Red Cross is preparing by readying shelters from the hundreds of locations where there are shelter agreements, mobilizing volunteers and ensuring other assets are ready if needed.

More than 30 Red Cross workers are in West Virginia with eight emergency response vehicles ready at a moment’s notice and 25 shelter trailers located throughout the state.

In the immediate area where Florence makes landfall, tornadoes and flash flooding are possible and power, water, sewer and phone services could be disrupted for an extended time after the storm’s landfall, the Red Cross said.

The Red Cross is providing shelter for evacuees with as many as 100,000 people possibly needing help. More than 6,700 people spent Wednesday night in 127 Red Cross and community shelters in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, the Red Cross said.

More than 1,500 disaster workers are on the ground to help and additional volunteers are being mobilized if needed. The relief effort includes 80 emergency response vehicles and more than 120 trailers of equipment and supplies.

The Red Cross and other relief groups have served 4,500 meals and snacks.

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