Hurricane Matthew: York County Red Cross sending crews, other groups on standby to help

Several area assistance organizations are already in motion to help with property damage and aid displaced people at the South Carolina coast as the state braces for Hurricane Matthew.

The American Red Cross Palmetto Region chapter for northern South Carolina based in Rock Hill has sent 14 disaster workers to sites in Columbia and near the coast, and other volunteers are preparing to be sent should the need arise, officials said. The Red Cross handles mass care such as shelters, and assists with other disaster functions. More than a dozen shelters are already open in the state’s Lowcountry.

“We want to have as much in place as we can to help as many people as we can,” said Joe Hayes, executive director of the Palmetto Red Cross chapter who along with six other full-time Red Cross staff and seven volunteers are deployed to storm duty in Columbia and Charleston.

There has been no need so far for any local shelters or other services in York, Chester or Lancaster counties, so some equipment and materials – such as cots and other vital supplies – have been sent to coastal areas that are in need, Hayes said. The need for more shelters, volunteers and donations down state could rise depending on the severity of the storm, Hayes said.

The Red Cross is accepting financial donations that can be targeted specifically for Hurricane relief – and all can be done from a free Red Cross app for cellphones or by telephone or online. More, Hayes said, the hurricane has halted blood drives so there is a need for blood donations.

Other groups deployed or on standby

The York Baptist Association’s disaster response teams are on standby as they await directions for where those teams will likely be sent, said Mike O’Dell, director of missions. The association has more than 80 member churches in York County and for decades has helped victims of hurricanes and other disasters.

York Baptist volunteers expect to be activated and deployed as soon as the storm passes and it is determined what areas of the state need their help, O’Dell said.

More than 50 National Guard soldiers from York, Chester, and Lancaster counties also are at the coast assisting with traffic and evacuation and law enforcement aid, and are preparing to start debris removal and other functions as the storm arrives, said Maj. Tom Meares of the 178th Combat Engineers headquartered in Rock Hill.

Other soldiers at area armories in York, Chester, and Lancaster counties readied equipment Friday for potential deployment if needed.

Officials with Rock Hill’s American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts also are on standby to collect donations for transport to affected people, said Boyd Comer, a VFW member who led collection and transport efforts during the 2015 floods.

Emmanuel Church of the Nazarene, which collected and sent trailer-loads of donations to South Carolina flood victims in 2015 and for tornado victims in Oklahoma in 2013, will again collect bottled water, non-perishables, toiletries and other items as it seems clear there will be a need after the storm passes, said Rev. Jonathan Pannell of the church.

“We are waiting to see what happens, and where the need is going to be, but we certainly will start collecting what we can and figure out where to take it and how to get it there,” Pannell said.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Hurricane Matthew: York County Red Cross sending crews, other groups on standby to help."