Red Cross volunteers prepare for possible storm damage in central Virginia

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Red Cross volunteers from all over the United States are making their way to Central Virginia as they prepare for the possibility of damaging weather due to Tropical Storm Isaias.

Trucks are being loaded up with items like blankets and medical cots. Volunteers will continue getting vehicles ready while assigning each other to different tasks as the storm approaches.

A lot of the volunteers are traveling from different parts of the state and the country — and Peggy Johnson is from Colorado. She said she is assigned to be a shelter supervisor just in case shelters have to open.

“Prepare for the worst, hope for the best,” Johnson said. “We are here pre-staging a couple of days before the storm even hits just to ready for any and everything.”

On Monday, volunteers will continue getting trucks ready and pre-positioning supplies like food and extra PPE to areas that are on standby. The Red Cross says volunteers are also trained on new COVID-19 safety precautions before the storm hits makes landfall. 

Roger Bram is from Arizona and flew in to help as needed. He’s been a Red Cross volunteer for 15 years. 

“I’m very flexible, very very flexible. They tell me what to do, I do it,” he said. He often serves as a Red Cross truck driver. 

Volunteers remind families to make sure they are ready for any possibility — Keep an emergency preparedness kit with items like food, batteries, water, first aid, and medications handy.

Dependent on the track of the storm, supplies will be brought to centers closer to Virginia’s coast, like in Newport News, Norfolk and Gloucester.

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