Red Cross Volunteer Joins Tropical Storm Relief Effort

From the Midwest to Mamaroneck, White Plains resident Stanley Wang has helped lead relief efforts during floods and other emergencies across the country for the last seven years.

As a local volunteer for the , he is answering the call again this week, packing his bags for Orlando, FL., to provide tech support for other volunteers as they prepare for the possible impact of Tropical Storm Isaac.

"It's absolutely critical what he does," said Abigail Adams, regional communication coordinator of the American Red Cross. "He will make sure that we have ways to communicate as the operation evolves."

In his role as a Red Cross volunteer Wang helps build operations centers in short order in places affected by disasters. The work is critical, as communication is one of the most important aspects of dealing with an emergency.

"It's incredible," said Adams. "We'll be going into a place where we have to setup operations—we can go into an empty building and that will be our headquarters for our operations."

As the storm approaches the Golf Coast, about two dozen people from our area are preparing to join thousands of other volunteers just in case, said Adams. Millions of people are currently under warnings, and evacuation centers are already open in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

"This looks like it is going to be a very big operation," said Adams.

For anyone who is either in the storm's path, or for those who know people in the area, the Red Cross is also urging people to download that will help people monitor locations of friends and relatives, create emergency plans and find Red Cross Shelters.