Local volunteers head to Florida to assist in clean up after Hurricane Ian

FLORIDA — Now that the storm has passed, many agencies and organizations across Georgia are rallying to help with the recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

The American Red Cross has set up dozens of shelters across Florida and South Carolina.

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Channel 2′s Elizabeth Rawlins spoke to one of those volunteers via Zoom Saturday evening. Susan Everitt is the executive director of the American Red Cross in Augusta.

“I’m down in the Daytona Beach area, which got hit pretty hard,” said Everitt.

Everitt is among at least 50 volunteers who deployed from Georgia. She’s helping run a shelter currently housing more than 300 people whose homes were flooded.

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“They got a lot of flooding, lots of trees down, streets are closed. It’s very hard to get around,” said Everitt.

Meanwhile, members of Georgia’s Air National Guard have been called in to help with search and rescue operations in parts of Florida.

Power crews from Marietta Power have also deployed to parts of South Carolina.

“We feel the recovery will take months, not just weeks or days,” said Everitt.

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