Editor’s note: James “Dave” Boyles of Morrison, IL, left town on Friday, August 28, 2020, to offer support to victims of Hurricane Laura in southwest Louisiana. The Category-4 storm winds and storm surge made landfall early on Thursday, August 27. This photo shows Cameron, LA, where roofs were shredded, homes were flooded, and widespread ruin prevails. Before he departed, Boyles wrote this essay for thecity1.com viewers. This month he was honored with the Clara Barton Award. It is one of the highest awards bestowed on volunteers, recognizing service in leadership positions held over a period of years.
“After hurricane Laura made landfall, the requests for American Red Cross responders started. One of the earlier groups to be deployed are volunteers to officially assess the damage to homes. I am a Damage Assessment Supervisor, and, within hours, I was assigned. As soon as the Baton Rouge airport was re-opened, I made my flight arrangements….Within 24 hours I am on my way to be a part of the Red Cross immediate recovery efforts. My commitment is to be there for two weeks, but there is always an option to extend. Baton Rouge is a staging area where the headquarters is set up….My assumption is that tomorrow, [Saturday, August 29,] I will be sent out to a district office to start damage assessments, street-by-street and home-by-home.
“Packing is always done with some uncertainty. We do not know if we will be sleeping in tents, on cots in a gym, in a church basement, barracks, dorm room, or motel room. I have encountered each of these accommodation options in my deployments….A volunteer simply needs to be flexible, patient, and as prepared as possible. I am prepared and have fit it all into a carry-on….I will be as mobile as possible to make airline travel easier [and] to remain mobile, as we relocate from one area to the next during the deployment.
“Each volunteer is given a list of potential hardships that they might encounter. Laura has the following potential hardships:
- water disruption
- road travel conditions
- transportation limitations
- air quality
- walking and stairs
- health advisory
- power outage
- limited food availability
- extreme weather conditions
- housing shortage
- working conditions
- limited healthcare access
- extreme emotional experiences.
“In addition, they caution that wildlife may be displaced due to flood waters, with the most common threats being alligators, snakes, mosquitoes, ticks, and fire ants. They tell us that fire ant ‘islands’ look like floating masses of dirt and debris.
“This deployment has the unique challenge of occurring during the pandemic. The American Red Cross actively has been preparing for this type of operation since the start of the pandemic. We use the acronym ‘CDC’ to represent Cover using face masks; Distance six feet from each other; Clean your hands and surfaces often. We will be required to practice safe COVID-19 practices or be sent home. It is a challenge to obtain the volume of staff that are willing to deploy, since a large volume of our volunteer workforce is in a higher-risk category.
“However, the need for assistance is large, and the Red Cross is answering the call.”