Local volunteers brace for another hurricane
They went to the Gulf Coast to aid victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav, and now some of the same local relief workers are preparing to deal with a bigger, more deadly hurricane that's battering Texas.
Fourteen Red Cross volunteers from the Las Vegas area traveled to Louisiana to help run emergency shelters after Gustav slammed that gulf region -- the most since Hurricane Katrina three years ago.
Now Hurricane Ike, a 600-mile wide storm, is thrashing Galveston and is expected to pound Houston. Some workers were diverted to Texas to offer aid when the storm passes, and others remained in Louisiana, helping to feed 100,000 victims of Gustav.
"They've had a really tough couple of weeks," said Kris Darnall, spokeswoman for the Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Volunteers sign on for a three-week commitment and don't know where they're going or what to expect, other than they'll sleep on cots most of the time, Darnall said.
Meanwhile, the Nevada National Guard is finishing its aerial surveillance work of Gustav's impact on the Gulf Coast.
A C-130 plane and crew are on standby alert in Reno, and police, firefighters and medical staff are ready to deploy if Texas officials request help, said Gary Derks, operations officer for the Nevada Department of Emergency Management.
"It could very well happen," said Derks, whose agency coordinates local and state emergency efforts.
The National Guard could also deploy Chinook transport helicopters that can also be used to rescue flood victims, said Capt. April Conway, National Guard spokeswoman.
Twenty National Guard members did aerial surveillance of the areas that Gustav tore through. High-tech camera systems mounted on a C-130 and a helicopter assessed the damage on the ground, Conway said.
About half of the personnel returned to Nevada on Thursday and half were due to arrive home Friday, she said. Units are prepared to lend a hand to Texas again if asked.
"We're here and we're ready if the need comes," Conway said.
