RICHMOND, Va. -- The Texas-shaped pin on Everette Taylor’s red vest helps shape his view on what hurricanes can do to someone’s life. The retired postal worker from Chesterfield got the pin after responding to Hurricane Laura in 2020 and now is now heading to the Gulf of Mexico to assist those displaced by Hurricane Ida.
“Hundreds of people with pretty everything they own because they’ve been wiped out. I mean it’s heartbreaking. We try to help them out as best we can and give them different resources,” Taylor said as he got set to board a plane and head toward the worst-hit areas.
He’ll be part of a team with the American Red Cross assessing the damage done by the powerful storm that hit Louisiana as a category four storm on Sunday, causing flooding, massive power outages and significant wind damage to buildings in New Orleans.
“It looks horrible. So far, I’ve heard it’s only been one death. I hope it stays at one or at least at a minimal [level],” Taylor said.
The Virginia Region American Red Cross already has a handful of volunteers like Taylor on the ground in the Gulf. The Henrico Fire Department said several of their members who are on Virginia’s Task Force 2, considered one of most elite urban search and rescue teams in the country, are in Louisiana on their second day of rescue missions.
Retired Petersburg Police officer Randy Batts was a nervous father until his daughter called him Monday to say she and her family were safe. She lives just a few miles from downtown New Orleans and rode out the storm. Although the damage around them is significant, Batts said he’s “very thankful” for the teams of strangers heading in to help out their fellow Americans in need.
“It lets you know that a lot of people have giving hearts,” Taylor said.
The pins Red Cross volunteers get for each disaster they respond to are a source of pride and Taylor said they represent the people they can help comfort through a disaster like Hurricane Ida.
“They just need to talk. They just need a little reassurance, a little comfort, and we try to provide that,” he said.
Taylor encouraged those who cannot travel but still want to help to chip in financially if they have the means. You can do so here.
