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Oahu resident Trevor Keetch and his wife were able to get in touch with her parents, residents of rural Connecticut, after Hurricane Irene caused flooding and power outages along much of the East Coast last weekend.
HOW TO DONATE
To donate money to Red Cross disaster relief efforts:
>> Go to www.redcross.org. Click on “Donate Funds.”
>> Call 800-733-2767.
>> Mail a check to American Red Cross, Hawaii State Chapter, 4155 Diamond Head Road, Honolulu, HI 96816. Make check payable to “American Red Cross, Hawaii State Chapter.”
>> Text the word REDCROSS or 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Source: American Red Cross
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His in-laws were without power and water until Wednesday, he said, but were otherwise OK.
"Thankfully, they were prepared," Keetch said.
Keetch, 32, will get to see the damage for himself today when he flies to Boston, one of eight Red Cross volunteers from Hawaii being sent to several East Coast states to participate in disaster relief efforts.
Keetch, Bill Berg, Christina Bell and Renise Bayne will fly to Boston today to assist with bulk distribution of emergency relief items.
Donna Goldsworthy, a registered nurse from Hawaii island, left for Connecticut Wednesday. Two other nurses, Esther Lau and Lucille James, will leave Friday for New York and Connecticut, respectively. Hawaii island resident Cathy Lewis is being sent to New England on Friday to help coordinate volunteer assignments, said Coralie Matayoshi, Hawaii Red Cross chief executive officer. The volunteers will be there three weeks.
Irene is blamed for the deaths of at least 45 people in 12 states, and more than 1.5 million customers in 14 states remained without power as of Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press reported.
Hawaii nurses Goldsworthy, Lau and James will work in shelters and assist with basic first aid. Lau is a veteran disaster services volunteer whose first volunteer mission was to New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.
James has deployed with the Red Cross to Alabama and American Samoa.
"In these shelters there are people who are not well and they’ve lost their medications so I work with them to get it replaced," James said. "I try to contact their doctor or pharmacist to replace the medication.
"Sometimes they’re in such shock they don’t even remember their doctor’s name."
Matayoshi said it is too early to tell how much has been received in local donations for Hurricane Irene relief efforts.
"All we know is that we are a long way towards raising the $10 million to $15 million needed for our relief operation," she said, and encouraged people to give to the Red Cross.
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