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2 American Red Cross volunteers deploy to Texas, Louisiana ahead of Hurricane Laura

Updated  August 26, 2020 12:43am EDT
FOX 35 Orlando

Florida volunteers travel to assist those in path of Hurricane Laura

Florida is now outside the path of Hurricane Laura, so volunteers from American Red Cross chapters in Central Florida are heading to Louisiana and Texas to assist.

Two women with Central Florida’s American Red Cross are voluntarily heading toward Hurricane Laura.

Sammi Conneen will be stationed in Houston, Texas.

“That whole area of downtown Houston -- we all know that they get lots of flooding and they’re expecting some pretty heavy storm surges,” Conneen explained.

Galveston residents have already been given the order to evacuate the city ahead of Hurricane Laura.

RELATED: Hurricane Laura forms, expected to strengthen significantly and make landfall as Category 3 hurricane

“Once it gets to a certain area it’s gonna be no more movement, no more delivery, nobody coming and going and we’re gonna hunker down from there and wait and see how she goes,” she added.

Kathy Burkett is deploying to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to manage, shelter, and aid. 

Laura captured from space as it sweeps towards Cuba

Cuba was hit with heavy rains and large swells on Monday, August 24, as Laura swept across the Caribbean island after its deadly passage through Haiti and Dominican Republic.

“I believe that the flooding will be the major issue,” Burkett said. 

Both of them tell FOX 35 News they are ready to render help to anyone devastated by the unpredictable power of the storm, but for the first time in the midst of a pandemic.

TRACK THE TROPICS: Visit the FOX 35 Orlando Hurricane Center for the latest in the tropics, including daily updates, live radar, and severe weather alerts.

“With the COVID crisis and how much we’ve had to adapt to our mission to fit that crisis, our mission continues,” Burkett said. “It doesn’t change because of COVID, we just change the way we do our mission.”

They want people in the path of the storm to know they’re not alone.

“You got a lot of people coming,” Conneen said. “We’re going to do the best that we can.”

The volunteers say they have packed enough for two weeks but admit they could be gone longer.

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.