Red Cross volunteers prepare to leave

Sunday, September 5th 2004, 4:48 pm

By: News On 6

"It became apparent that Hurricane Frances was going to be possibly catastrophic." All week these Red Cross volunteers had been keeping a watchful eye on Hurricane Frances wondering when it would make landfall. Now, they're preparing to walk Frances' path of destruction to help the victims.

It's the first out-of-state, hardship assignment for these volunteers and response teams are orientating them on what to expect when they get to Florida.

"There maybe shortages of places to stay, power outages, water disruption, so this is not a vacation if you want to go to Florida. You're going to be working from 8 to 14 hour days."

58 year old volunteer Michael Hanna says he's ready for the challenge. He's been a volunteer for a year helping local fire victims. He'll be one of thousands of volunteers who will help in the mass care effort providing food and clothing to the hurricane victims.

"It just rewarding that I can do this it makes me feel good that I can help somebody."
"Volunteers will leave Tulsa and fly to Atlanta Georgia. They will stay in a hotel there and wait for the storm to pass in Florida before moving in to help the victims."

Hanna says once he gets to the Sunshine state he expects it to look like a warzone, but he hopes to bring some comfort to victims who are on a long road to recovery.