Metro-east gives aid to Irene victims Red Cross volunteers travel to as storm ... - Belleville News Democrat

BELLEVILLE -- With Hurricane Irene set to wreak havoc on America's eastern seaboard, metro-east people and facilities were poised to help out in a variety of ways.

Seven Red Cross volunteers from the metro-east were deployed up and down the East Coast as of Saturday afternoon to help out with logistical support, damage assessment, disaster health services and the management of emergency vehicles.

One of the volunteers is damage assessment specialist Craig Fleming, of Fairview Heights.

Early Saturday, Fleming boarded a flight from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport to Boston, then drove 80 minutes south to Yarmouth, Mass. That's where he planned to spend Saturday night with five other Red Cross volunteers and 75 evacuees.

Fleming said the mood among the evacuees in the town near the "elbow" of Cape Cod was fairly upbeat "because people are kind of thinking of the last hurricane that came through. It kind of slipped by and missed."

Although Irene had been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, major concerns centered on potential damage from flooding and high winds when Irene made its expected landfall this morning, said Fleming, a retired Air Force enlisted man.

"The problem here is they are more worried about the sea surge from the wind and because everything around here is low-lying and beach area, with no levees and dikes, like they had in New Orleans," Fleming said. "So all the water is going to be pushed into the beaches and into the towns and up the rivers by the wind."

Other metro-east Red Cross volunteers include:

* Robert Whitlow, of Belleville, who will help with ensuring that supplies and staff are in position.

* Rita Determan, of Swansea, will provide support services to deployed Red Cross volunteers.

* Mike Wood, of Granite City, will help with an emergency response vehicle to help with mobile feeding.

* Denise and Walter Wallheimer, of Caseyville, will manage a fleet of Red Cross emergency response vehicles.

* Al Boucher, of Fairview Heights, will provide disaster health services.

Overall, 20 Red Cross volunteers from the St. Louis region had been deployed to the East Coast, along with 14,000 tarps, as well as cots, water, cleanup kits and other relief supplies, the Red Cross announced.

Meanwhile, both MidAmerica St. Louis Airport and Scott Air Force Base, which share a runway, were providing a safe haven for nearly a dozen military aircraft and 30 personnel, including air crews and support staff.

Four of those planes are Navy F-18A Super Hornet fighter jets stationed at Virginia Beach, Va., which flew into MidAmerica on Saturday.

Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Menna, originally from Belleville, said he and his fellow fighter pilots expected to stay at MidAmerica at least through today.

"Obviously if power is out, things like that, we'll stay longer," Menna said.

Also on Saturday, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn ordered the deployment of three regional coordinators from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and 160 troops from the Illinois National Guard to New York state to help with preparations for Hurricane Irene's impending landfall.

Hurricane Irene is a serious threat to millions of East Coast residents and "we're prepared to provide assistance wherever needed," Quinn said.

The state National Guard was positioning the troops along the East Coast, along with six UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and two CH-47 Chinook helicopters, according Quinn.

Maj. Gen. William L. Enyart, the National Guard's adjutant general and a Belleville native, said: "Time and again, our soldiers are ready, willing and able to join the effort to protect our fellow Americans during a natural disaster. I am extremely proud to lead these dedicated men and women."