UNDATED (WKZO AM/FM) — Indiana and Michigan Electric, the Utility to our south says it has about 200 foresters, lineman and support personnel they can send to the Carolinas, to repair the damage from Hurricane Florence.
They are waiting for damage assessments and a specific request.
Consumers Energy says because of their distance from the East Coast, they would be asked to send crews in a second wave, if necessary.
Spokesman Roger Morgenstern says they are identifying trucks and crews and compiling a list, and should know by this weekend how many they will be asked to send. He says if the call comes, it will probably be early next week.
They work in 16-hour shifts until the job is done.
The local utility, and their insurance company pick up the costs of the emergency response.
Two more Red Cross volunteers from Kalamazoo are expected to leave Kalamazoo today, to drive an Emergency Response Vehicle to the middle-Atlantic states for use after Florence blows through.
The ERV’s are equipped to be mobile kitchens for food distribution and to haul other supplies for delivery to isolated disaster victims.
Tiffany Page, the executive director of the Grand Rapids Red Cross Chapter says there are a couple of ways to help.
You can make donations or volunteer for service in the disaster zone, after training. They say you may not be trained in time to help out with Florence, but another disaster will be along soon enough.
