The Northern Miami Valley chapter of the American Red Cross has sent eight volunteers to the flooded areas of Louisiana, according to officials.
“We’ve got eight folks who have already gotten on the road,” said Laura Seyfang, executive directors for the Miami Valley chapter of the American Red Cross.
The volunteers are heading to the southeastern part of Louisiana, where at least 11 people have died and more than 40,000 homes have been damaged in the region.
Seyfang said the volunteers are asked to commit to two weeks of service when they are deployed.
“It’s a long time for people to be down working in that kind of situation,” Seyfang said.
After two weeks, Red Cross plans to rotate in new volunteers while cleanup continues.
Up to two-and-a-half feet of rain that swelled rivers and swamped the area in and around Baton Rouge, La., has led the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to classify the flooding as a once-in-every-500-years event.