‘We saw people after their worst days’: Red Cross volunteer breaks down what recovery is like after Helene, Milton
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — As volunteers from the Virginia Office of the American Red Cross continue to return from emergency deployment, more and more are coming home with a special message of hope for Milton and Helene survivors. One volunteer from the Virginia branch broke down what she saw and what she learned during her deployment to the areas devastated by the storms. Katie Niehoff, the regional disaster officer for the Virginia region, has been back home for one week after her extended deployment to Tallahassee, Florida ended. She was deployed to the southern state ahead of Hurricane Milton. Her standard deployment was for two weeks -- but, this time, she ended up staying for 17 days. Niehoff said that, even though she and others have returned home, the road to recovery is a long one. PREVIOUS: ‘We’re also here to provide hope’: Virginia Red Cross prepares to help victims of Hurricane Milton in Florida “When you see what a community has gone through and the damage that they've suffered -- it's always hard to not connect yourself to that emotionally,” Niehoff said. She said that, just like many North Carolinians and even Virginians, the residents in Florida are still desperate for help following back-to-back storms. Hurricane Milton blew into Florida as a category 3 storm on Oct. 8, just days after officials say Helene killed more than 200 people across multiple states. “We always say, 'If you've been on one deployment, you've been on one deployment' -- because they all look different,” Niehoff said. Niehoff said that the need for help and other aid to recover is so severe that other volunteers have extended their deployment in storm-ravaged areas by multiple weeks. “They're staying because there is such a need for responders on the ground in Florida and North Carolina," she said. "I'll say, when you're there, it's different.” Niehoff said that, often when disaster strikes in places, blood drives stop -- even though that's usually when they are needed the most. She also said that the communities are stronger than the trauma they have been through. “The communities are very resilient," Niehoff said. "There's a lot of resources there to support them. And I think that they know that there are people that are there to help them and that will help them get back to a state of normalcy."
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HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — As volunteers from the Virginia Office of the American Red Cross continue to return from emergency deployment, more and more are coming home with a special message of hope for Milton and Helene survivors.
One volunteer from the Virginia branch broke down what she saw and what she learned during her deployment to the areas devastated by the storms.
Katie Niehoff, the regional disaster officer for the Virginia region, has been back home for one week after her extended deployment to Tallahassee, Florida ended. She was deployed to the southern state ahead of Hurricane Milton.
Her standard deployment was for two weeks -- but, this time, she ended up staying for 17 days.
Niehoff said that, even though she and others have returned home, the road to recovery is a long one.
“When you see what a community has gone through and the damage that they've suffered -- it's always hard to not connect yourself to that emotionally,” Niehoff said.
She said that, just like many North Carolinians and even Virginians, the residents in Florida are still desperate for help following back-to-back storms.
Hurricane Milton blew into Florida as a category 3 storm on Oct. 8, just days after officials say Helene killed more than 200 people across multiple states.
“We always say, 'If you've been on one deployment, you've been on one deployment' -- because they all look different,” Niehoff said.
Niehoff said that the need for help and other aid to recover is so severe that other volunteers have extended their deployment in storm-ravaged areas by multiple weeks.
“They're staying because there is such a need for responders on the ground in Florida and North Carolina," she said. "I'll say, when you're there, it's different.”
Niehoff said that, often when disaster strikes in places, blood drives stop -- even though that's usually when they are needed the most.
She also said that the communities are stronger than the trauma they have been through.
“The communities are very resilient," Niehoff said. "There's a lot of resources there to support them. And I think that they know that there are people that are there to help them and that will help them get back to a state of normalcy."
