Red Cross volunteers from the Hudson Valley race to Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton
50 of the 2,100 American Red Cross across the southeast are from the Greater New York region including Westchester and Rockland.
Florida residents are evacuating the state for the second time in less than a month as volunteers race against the clock before Hurricane Milton makes landfall this week.
Millions of residents are under evacuation orders but highways are backed up and flights are being cancelled in and out of the state. All six JetBlue flights in or out of Westchester County Airport to and from Fort Myers and Tampa have been canceled Tuesday.
The American Red Cross has 2,100 volunteers including 50 from the Greater New York region including Westchester and Rockland residents in the southeast.
American Red Cross of Greater New York CEO Doreen Howe said they are working to provide safe shelter, food, water and support to people not only recovering from Hurricane Helene but bracing for Milton.
"It'll be working with the communities, partnering with the government agencies in the impacted areas to provide the support they need," American Red Cross of Greater New York CEO Doreen Howe said.
The Red Cross provided more than 33,800 overnight stays in 227 emergency shelters and more than 435,000 meals to help those affected by Helene already.
Howe said these back-to-back intense storms are an example of how climate change and extreme weather is putting more pressure on volunteers and non-profit organizations to respond.
Helene and Milton are both examples of how extreme weather is becoming more frequent and intense.
