The Hawaii Red Cross is calling for more volunteers as disaster season approaches.
Specifically, the Red Cross needs new volunteers to work in shelters as hurricane season, which got underway June 1, continues through Nov. 30. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center in May forecast a milder than normal season with two to four storms expected to impact the basin.
“We’re preparing for disaster season, and it’s critical to have a trained, ready volunteer workforce to make sure we can provide relief at a moment’s notice,” said Diane Peters-Nguyen, CEO of the American Red Cross, Pacific Islands Region. “Disasters can happen quickly, and we need to have more local volunteers prepared to respond.”
Volunteers for Local Disaster Action Teams are needed to provide hands-on care, including working reception, registration, dormitory, information collection and providing compassionate care. The Red Cross is also looking for nurses, paramedics, EMTs, and doctors or physicians assistants with current and unencumbered licenses.
American Red Cross Pacific Island Region Hawaii County Director Marty Moran said the number of volunteers on Hawaii Island dropped by 50 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, Red Cross has about 120 volunteers it can call upon on Hawaii Island.
While the Red Cross didn’t have to respond to any major storms during the pandemic, which was a good thing amid the pandemic, Hawaii Island volunteers opened emergency shelters several times, including for several days amid the island’s largest wildfire in history that scorched an estimated 40,000 acres in late July and early August.
“COVID-19 didn’t really affect us too much. The only restriction we have is that we require everyone in the shelter to wear a mask. Clients and Red Cross personal.”
Should a major disaster strike this year, the Red Cross plans to open congregate shelters around Hawaii Island. Due to the spread of COVID-19, however, masks will be required in all the shelters, and health screening for COVID-19 may be required among shelter residents.
Shelters manned by Red Cross volunteers on the Big Island are typically located at schools and other secure buildings. Any shelter openings will be broadcast to the public via newspapers, websites, TV and radio.
Anyone who would like to volunteer should call the Red Cross at (808) 739-8109 or visit redcross.org.