CINCINNATI — Hurricane Milton is making landfall in the U.S. as thousands are still dealing with the impact of Hurricane Helene.
Various Tri-State organizations and groups have prepared to help where needed in the wake of Milton as they continue to also help those effected by Helene.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine activated the Ohio National Guard on Monday ahead of the hurricane.
“As Florida recovers from one hurricane and braces for another, Ohio is answering the call to help Governor DeSantis and the entire state," DeWine said.
Ohio Task Force 1 was also deployed to help with Hurricane Milton roughly a day after several members returned from Hurricane Helene fallout in North Carolina. The Butler County All Hazards Incident Management Team, a 12-person team that supports first responders, is also headed to Florida.
"It's a team of local first responders who have additional training that allow them to understand how to deal with complex incidents," said Jim Bolen, director of the Butler County Emergency Management Agency. "Our team is made up of first responders throughout multiple jurisdictions in Butler County against multiple disciplines, and they go down there and again try to provide order to the chaos."
The American Red Cross also has already 2,500 volunteers and anticipates the need for more.
"We have the need for health services workers who can help with the medical needs, that individuals have shelter supervisors who can kind of provide the management of those, of those facilities. So, a huge need at this point [is] for individuals who are able to help in that way," said Stephanie Bryd, the Central and Southern Ohio Regional CEO for the Red Cross.
Duke Energy also has 16,000 workers on standby along the outside of Hurricane Milton's path as the company expects more than 1 million power outages
Groups like Matthew 25: Ministries are also continuing to help following the devastation of Hurricane Helene. The organization is accepting both monetary donations, as well as donations of selection items and products, including:
- Cases of bottled water (12 and 24 count)
- Personal care products (i.e. antibacterial soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, etc.)
- Cleaning supplies (i.e. laundry detergent, general cleaners, sponges, mops, scrub brushes, etc.)
- Paper products (i.e. toilet paper, paper towels, etc.)
- Baby and infant supplies (i.e. diapers, baby wipes, diaper rash ointment, etc.)
- First-aid items (i.e. bandages, gauze, band-aids, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, latex gloves, etc.)
- Candles and flashlights
- Clean-up supplies (i.e. work gloves, trash bags, etc.)
Matthew 25: Ministries accepts any product donations at its drop-off facility located at 11083 Kenwood Road.
For more information about Matthew 25: Ministries' efforts, click here.
The Scripps Howard Fund, a public charity established by The E.W. Scripps Company, is also working with Scripps stations most affected by the recent hurricanes to identify local nonprofit organizations who can quickly provide aid to the communities most in need.
You can click here to donate to The Scripps Howard Fund.
You can also text "SCRIPPS" to 50155 to donate.
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