As the Florida Coast and the Southeast prepare for Hurricane Milton’s landfall, volunteer groups nationwide are gearing up for disaster relief post-storm.
In the Pacific Northwest, Washington Task Force One is sending 80 volunteers down to help out FEMA and other first-responding agencies. Program Manager William Palmer says 31 of their volunteers began their journey on Saturday with several vehicles and over 90,000 pounds of equipment.
“We anticipate that we are going to be used for wide area searches primarily along with water rescue depending on how quickly it drains off,” Palmer said.
Palmer says their volunteers have gone through some extensive training for these situations and are prepared for whatever is thrown their way. He tells KIRO 7 that some of the volunteers heading down to help come from all sorts of different backgrounds and jobs.
“Like doctors, structural engineers, K9 handlers, and one of them is a coffee roaster,” Palmer said.
The American Red Cross Northwest Region is also sending volunteers down to help. Betsy Robertson with the group says they will have at least 50 volunteers in the Carolinas and Florida – providing aid to those impacted by the massive storm. She says some of their newer volunteers already have boots on the ground.