GRAND RAPIDS (WKZO AM/FM) — Four Governors have now declared states of emergency as the monster called Hurricane Irma could hit anywhere from Florida to North Carolina, or any state in between. It has already killed 3 in the Islands.
The Red Cross of West Michigan has begun their Zero to Hero training program and it now looks like those volunteers for Texas relief won’t have to wait long for their first deployment.
However they could soon find themselves on the way to the Atlantic shore instead of the Gulf of Mexico if Irma takes a more northerly course.
Red Cross Spokesperson Vicki Eichstaedt says 4-dozen volunteers went through the training program yesterday in Grand Rapids and more are planned.
They hope to schedule one in Kalamazoo soon.
She says the Red Cross has already started deploying manpower and supplies in preparation for Irma, which is the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.
Michigan has seven volunteers staging in South Carolina and Florida and may have more soon. It’s been decades since two hurricanes this powerful hit the U.S. in one season.
