MADISON, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – More volunteers with the American Red Cross are on their way to help victims of Hurricane Helene. Two drove out of Madison on Sunday.
Just a few weeks ago, Louise and Kevin Johnson celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in Tennessee. Now, they’re heading back to help people impacted by the hurricane. “That was kind of our goal after he retired, is that we would do something to help other people. That’s how we got involved with this. We kind of do a lot of stuff together, so makes sense that we both go,” Louise said.
They loaded up the Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV), hopped in and got on their way at around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. They’re expecting to make it to Tennessee by noon on Monday. Once they get there, empty bins inside of the ERV will be filled with food, water and coffee.
Kevin has been volunteering with the Red Cross for two years, and Louise has been volunteering closer to seven. It’s their first time responding to a hurricane. “It’ll be a learning curve,” Kevin said.
Tennessee is sufering catastrophic flooding. It was the site of a dramatic scene Friday when 54 people were rescued from a hospital roof. East of Tennessee, North Carolina is also suffering severe effects. That’s where another Red Cross volunteer, Bonnie Tiedt, will be heading.
“Those rural areas of North Carolina, Tennessee, just the destruction that you see, that just really touched me,” Tiedt said.
Tiedt isn’t sure when she’ll be deployed, but she’s already been on her fair share of disaster response deployments, like aiding victims of Hurricane Ian.
In total, 25 volunteers from Wisconsin have been deployed.
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