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American Red Cross volunteers from Georgia are deploying across the state as Hurricane Helene intensifies and heads towards landfall along the Florida Panhandle. Ahead of the storm, the Red Cross is mobilizing hundreds of trained workers across the Southeast and prepositioning emergency response vehicles, truckloads of relief supplies and ready-to-eat meals to be ready to help.

“The Red Cross mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering so it’s important that we’re there to help the communities before landfall and post-landfall during a hurricane,” said Jill Deskins, Regional Volunteer Services Officer for the Red Cross of Georgia who has deployed to Tallahassee, Florida, to help in storm response.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Helene is expected to increase in speed today through Thursday, bringing the center of the storm across the eastern Gulf of Mexico and to the Florida Big Bend coast by Thursday evening. Helene’s fast-forward speed could allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, across Georgia and into the southeastern United States. The Red Cross is preparing to respond and urges Georgians to get ready now.

HURRICANE SAFETY TIPS

• Bring outdoor items inside, such as lawn furniture and trash cans, which could be picked up by high winds and hurt someone. Secure objects that can’t be brought inside, such as gas grills and propane tanks.
• Before a storm threatens your community, make a plan to evacuate and one to shelter safely at home. Don’t forget to include pets in your plans.
• To prepare for heavy rain, clean out drains, gutters and downspouts.

FLOOD SAFETY

• During a flood, be prepared to evacuate immediately if local officials advise. Don’t return home until officials say it’s safe.
• Don’t walk, swim or drive through floodwater. Turn around, don’t drown!
• If you are caught on a flooded road and waters are rising around you, quickly get out of the car, move to higher ground and stay there.

POWER OUTAGE SAFETY

• Use flashlights in the dark — not candles.
• During a prolonged outage, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to protect your food. Use perishable food from the refrigerator first, then, food from the freezer. If the power outage continues beyond a day, prepare a cooler with ice for your freezer items. Keep food in a dry, cool spot and always cover it.
• If you are using a generator, keep it dry and don’t use it in wet conditions.
• Never use a generator, grill, camp stove or other gasoline, propane, natural gas or charcoal-burning device inside a home, garage, basement or other partially enclosed area. Keep this equipment outside and away from doors, windows and vents, which could allow carbon monoxide to come indoors.
• Operate the generator on a dry surface under an open canopy-like structure, such as under a tarp held up by poles. Don’t touch a generator with wet hands.