DAYTON — People in Florida are preparing for Hurricane Ian and the possibility they will lose power and crews from AES Ohio and the Red Cross are heading south.
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News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott says 16 crews from AES Ohio are heading down to Florida Wednesday to help with the anticipated loss of power that could come from Hurricane Ian.
The Red Cross is also sending hundreds of trained volunteers to help in rescue and recovery efforts.
A request for help was sent to AES Ohio ahead of the major hurricane making landfall, the power company told News Center 7.
About eight local Red Cross volunteers from central and southern Ohio are already in Florida.
They are doing prep work and supporting evacuation shelters.
More people are expected to fly down to Florida in the next few days depending on how hard the storm hits Florida.
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McDermott reports AES Ohio does not have the specifics yet in Georgia on how they are going to help but have a general idea of what they will do.
Especially since extreme power outages are expected, according to Tampa’s mayor.
“Yes, the electricity, the electric power will probably go out,” said Jane Castor, Mayor of Tampa. “Nothing can really sustain or survive through saltwater intrusion. And that’s the worst thing that can happen to our electric grids.”
The Red Cross says you can help from home by donating to their disaster relief fund.