Hurricane Irene Path
The American Red Cross is getting ready for a full East Coast response to Hurricane Irene. Burt Hankins of Jacksonville is one of hundreds of volunteers from around the country who will leave today for North Carolina as the Red Cross gears up for Hurricane Irene when it reaches landfall. Hankins is bringing supplies and a vehicle to provide food and assistance to those in need. Hankins helped tornado-devastated Alabama earlier this year, hurricane-hit Texas in 2009 and hurricane-damaged Alabama in 2005.
Disaster volunteers Frank Kominowski, of Martinsville, Indiana, and Patty Knox, of Whiteland, Indiana, will drive their ERV to a staging area. Meanwhile, shelters are being prepped, and workers and supplies are being moved into place.
Irene is the first significant hurricane threat to the United States in several years and emergency officials estimate it could cause widespread damage along much of the Eastern Seaboard. The storm has reached Category 4 levels as it approaches land. It could hit New York by Sunday night.
