BOISE, Idaho — As Hurricane Dorian continues to threaten parts of the East Coast and the Bahamas, relief is on the way and some of that relief is coming from here in Idaho.
“We're deploying volunteers, we're helping predisposition supplies, we've got people in mass care doing food shelter, we've got people in logistics and communications with community partners,” Red Cross chief development officer Bryce Sitter said.
The Red Cross serving Idaho deployed four volunteers from Boise, Meridian and Moscow, and they're planning on sending more volunteers in the days and weeks to come.
“Our biggest need is financial donations,” Sitter said. “It's the easiest way for us to make an impact and help people.”
The Red Cross is also looking for blood donations because they’re going to have to cancel some of the blood drives on the East Coast because of the hurricane. In Charleston, South Carolina, a Boise company, The Flood Defense Group, is working to protect two dozen properties.
“There's sand bags everywhere, there's fortification all over, up and down the street and it's just kind of a surreal feeling,” Flood Defense Group owner Keith Anderson said.
Charleston is the group's second stop since Hurricane Dorian began threatening the area.
“I just got done in North Carolina, protecting the city of Lumberton with a 12-foot high flood wall,” Anderson said.
As of Tuesday, Nampa's Mission Aviation Fellowship was enroute to the Bahamas.
“They're going to be flying loads of tarps and water filters and hygiene kits and everything people need to live really, because of everything they've lost,” said Mission Aviation Fellowship disaster response specialist Rick Emenaker.
Crews are expected to continue to help provide relief for the next three weeks.
“It's a desperate situation,” Emenaker said. “People need help and we're doing everything we can as an organization that we can do.”