ABILENE, Texas (KTAB) – Hurricane Florence continues to move on shore along the Carolina coast packing winds up to 100 mph, as of the latest advisory at 4:00 PM CST. Life threatening flooding and storm surge will be the main concern along the coast over the next few days.

Volunteers with the American Red Cross of Abilene arrived this afternoon in North Carolina to help provide clean water, safe shelter and hot meals to those who need it the most once the storm passes. “We have two of our emergency response vehicles, plus four of our volunteers that left out yesterday, say’s Kari Hennagin, the Executive Director of the American Red Cross of Abilene.”

Preparations are now a thing in the past, and for those who decided to hunker down and ride out Florence will have to face the fear of what’s to come. “Make sure you’re prepared for a minimum of at least three days if you get stuck in your house with food, water and pet supplies, say’s Kari.

The Red Cross has essentials packed and ready to go in disaster response trailers. Kari say’s “we have 27 trailers that we have ready to go. The trailers include cots, blankets and comfort kits. It can house and shelter about 800 people.”

Jim Bryan, the Emergency Management Coordinator with the City of Abilene, say’s “it is important for those who live in Abilene to sign up for Code Red.” This is the local emergency alert system that warns citizens of local disasters and severe weather. You can sign up for Code Red by visiting www.abilenetx.com.

In large disasters, victims rely on donations to help get back on their feet and to repair what was lost. Kari explains how the money was allocated from Hurricane Harvey last year. “We used the money that first came in for the initial emergency response and disaster. In this case we had quite a bit of money that came in. So, we were able to give back to those who were most affected to help with the recovery. The good thing is that they could use it for whatever they needed to use it for.”

If you would like to donate to help victims that will be impacted by Hurricane Florence you can do so by visiting www.redcross.org.