The American Red Cross Hawaii State Chapter is sending a fresh set of volunteers to New York to join what is shaping up to be the largest Red Cross response in the United States in five years.

Four volunteers left last week and five more will be leaving soon to help victims of Superstorm Sandy. The reinforcements bring the total number of Hawaii volunteers dispatched to the East Coast to 31.

More than 5,700 Red Cross workers in total are aiding the effort, supporting shelters, providing food and water, and driving meals and supplies to neighborhoods.

Hawaii Red Cross CEO Coralie Chun Matayoshi said the state will benefit from the experience the volunteers bring back.

"We have had five near disasters in the past five years — Hurricanes Flossie and Felicia and three tsunami — so it’s just a matter of time that something big will hit and we need to do everything we can to get ready for it," Chun Matayoshi said.