Area volunteers head for eye of Florida storms.

Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard

Florida residents digging out from two hurricanes and preparing for a third will get a little help from friends around the country, including volunteers and emergency managers from Lane County.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is mustering a citizen corps of thousands to provide aid, even as the American Red Cross deploys 2,000 volunteers to feed, house and otherwise provide for the storm victims.

The Lane County sheriff's office is sending emergency management coordinator Mark McKay and chaplain Lupe Phillips into the teeth of the crisis.

The two planned to leave early this morning for Atlanta for training in working with victims before going on to Florida, where they'll help assess damage and victim needs and provide information about the assistance available from the federal government. They don't know yet just where they'll be deployed.

Both men have experience with disasters. Most recently McKay helped assess damage from last year's winter storms in Lane County, and Phillips has worked extensively with police and firefighters, especially on wildland fires in Northern California, where he was a chaplain until moving to Eugene two years ago.

Hurricane Charley smashed into southwest Florida on Aug. 13 with 145 mph winds that caused an estimated $6.8 billion damage and 27 deaths. Frances hammered the state's eastern coast on Sunday with 105 mph winds that caused $2 billion to $4 billion in insured damage and 16 deaths.

With more than 1 million homes and businesses still without power Thursday and continued flood warnings in some counties, the state must batten down now for Ivan, a Category 5 storm with winds reaching 160 mph that has already decimated Grenada and prompted evacuations in Jamaica and Cuba. Forecasters believe it could hit the Florida Keys late Sunday or early Monday with slightly less wrath as a Category 4 storm with winds of 131 to 155 mph.

People who undergo calamities are often in shock as they discover just how much they've lost, Phillips said.

"At first, they just need someone to talk to," he said. As they come to grips with their losses, emergency workers can help them with resources about the varieties of aid available.

And that's where American Red Cross volunteers come in.

While FEMA workers function as liaisons for federal financial aid, Red Cross volunteers are taking care of the immediate needs: food, shelter, clothing and cleanup.

About 13 Lane County Red Cross volunteers have been sent to Florida, said Jenny Carrick, spokeswoman for the Lane County chapter. Of them, four or five are actually in Florida while the rest are staging in Georgia in preparation for the coming assault from Hurricane Ivan.

The volunteers are working at shelters or mobile kitchens or delivering cleanup supplies to neighborhoods, Carrick said. Licensed therapists and counselors also are on hand offering emotional support to the victims.

The FEMA workers will be there for two weeks. Red Cross volunteers usually stay for 21 days.

The assistance they provide in Florida has a payback for Oregon.

They return with real-world experience that no training exercises can effectively mimic, McKay said. That enhances the skills they bring to local disasters.

While hurricanes don't plague Oregon, we're vulnerable to earthquakes, volcanoes and wildland fires that strike without warning. Like hurricanes, they can destroy homes, disrupt power and leave people isolated from emergency services.

"These are low probability, but high impact" disasters, McKay said, and because they happen so infrequently, Oregon residents tend to be less prepared than people who live in hurricane or tornado prone areas of the country.

Part of McKay's Lane County job is helping communities develop emergency response teams, groups of volunteers who know what to do when disaster strikes.

"We want to get as many citizens organized and prepared so they can be self-reliant until help arrives," he said.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

TO HELP

The American Red Cross relies on volunteers and financial donations to provide disaster relief. Last year, in Benton, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln and Linn counties, volunteers responded to more than 400 incidents and helped 877 people.

Donations: To the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund at P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C., 20013 or 862 Bethel Drive, Eugene, OR 97402.

Getting prepared: Check the Red Cross Web site at oregonpacific. redcross.org to find brochures on creating a disaster supplies kit, how to store food and water and disaster planning. The Red Cross also offers classes on disaster preparedness. For more information, call 344-5244.

Build a team: Want to create a Community Emergency Response Team in your area? Contact Mark McKay at 682-7406 for more information on the training and federal grant funding available for such groups.