INDIANAPOLIS -- Two Hoosiers volunteering with the American Red Cross have been deployed to help those affected by the devastating impacts of Hurricane Debby.
According to an American Red Cross press release, Mike Murtha and John Fitzgerald departed from the Red Cross Indianapolis Office Wednesday evening to join other Indiana Region disaster workers who have already been deployed to Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Murtha and Fitzgerald bring the total number of volunteers from the Indiana Region up to 23, who will partner with more than 770 other Red Cross volunteers providing emergency relief to communities that have been hit the hardest so far.
The emergency vehicle is equipped with ready-eat-meals, water and snacks once it arrives in affected areas most affected by the storms, according to the release.
This follows Sunday's announcement that 48 volunteers with the Indiana Task Force 1 have been activated in South Carolina to help with emergency response. The volunteers will focus on urban search and water rescues.
According to the latest reports, tropical storm Debby has extended southeast with torrential downpours and flooding after heavy rain and high winds tore through Florida.
At least six people have been killed so far as the storm has caused severe flooding in Savannah, Georiga and Charleston, South Carolina.
On Monday, Debby made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane.
The release added that Red Cross volunteers have been responding "to nearly twice as many large disasters as we did a decade ago to help families and communities struggling with more frequent and intense disasters."
Anyone interested in donating to the American Red Cross can visit redcross.org or call 1-800-733-2767 or text REDCROSS to 90999 to submit a $10 donation.