Local rescue workers head to the East Coast to help

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Hurricane Sandy is producing dangerous winds and rain that are terrorizing the East Coast, causing widespread damage from state to state.

The images popping up of the damages caused by the storm are horrible and seem surreal, and that’s viewing them from a distance.

On Saturday, the Red Cross of the Wabash Valley sent eight volunteers and two trucks to sites in Pennsylvania to help with storm relief.

“If we didn’t have eight volunteers going from the Wabash Valley, that would be eight volunteers that would have to come from some other location,” said Carol Stevens of Red Cross of the Wabash Valley. “This is a huge operation. We had shelters open in nine states last night.”

Emergency responders are heading east as well.

• TASK FORCE 7 HEADING EAST | Click here to view

Over the past three days, the area’s Task Force 7 response team has sent 25 firefighters, emergency medical personnel and others to help out with storm relief..

Officials said it’s all part of new federal systems to help state help each other.

Chief Fisher said when other states are in need of help, they respond to the Emergency Operations Center, which passes the word through the ranks.  If the disaster is bad enough, all emergency crews from around the nation provide as much help as possible, knowing that they would return, and have returned, the favor.

Some of those disaster relief volunteers are in New Jersey, with five ambulances helping with the evacuations of hospitals over the next four days.

The rest are on the road to Albany, New York with the agency’s incident management team on a two week deployment.

Chief Fisher said they can expect a good welcome at road’s end.

“When you roll in there, they’re happy to see you, because these people need to pick up the pieces of their lives and put it back together. They don’t have to worry about going out on a structure fire, or an emergency response—whatever—fixing their roof. They need to pick up the pieces of their lives,” Chief Fisher said.

Duke Energy has informed us that they haven’t sent any local employees to the East Coast; however, they have released about 500 contractors to help with storm relief.