I have been back in Missouri for several days after being deployed as a Red Cross volunteer to Southern Texas, following the landfall of Hurricane Dolly. During the one week I was there I served as a government liaison, assisting the two local volunteers who had been working around the clock prior to Dolly's landfall.

We served as the central point of contact that all of the county or city emergency operations and community agencies sent their relief operation requests to. We helped match the needs of those affected with the community agencies providing that particular service. It was incredible to see firsthand how all of the agencies and hundreds of volunteers worked together to provide relief to people in need as they began their road to recovery.

Because of what I was doing, I did not have the opportunity to visit some of the hardest hit areas, but I heard about them in great detail. When Hurricane Dolly made landfall, its impact was much more devastating than expected.  Dolly was a slow moving hurricane, but the rain kept coming. Most of the area is flat, so you can imagine the damage over 8 inches of rain (in a short amount of time) can cause.  The moisture caused mosquitoes to increase and aerial spraying of hard to reach areas was expected to start soon. And when I first got to Texas, over 200,000 people were without power. The day I left, the number was down to less than 8,000; I saw a lot of tired, but happy power crews heading home.

To the places I was able to go to, everyone I met throughout the area was grateful for the Red Cross volunteers, thanking us at every opportunity. I was proud to be one of the many representing the Red Cross during Hurricane Dolly.

Until my next assignment. 

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