Portland Red Cross volunteers to help with recovery efforts after typhoon hits Guam

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - Red Cross volunteers from the Portland area are set to help in ongoing recovery efforts in Guam after a typhoon made landfall.

Typhoon Mawar is the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory in decades. It brought winds reaching 150 miles per hour, heavy rain and a dangerous storm surge.

SEE ALSO: After Typhoon Mawar battered Guam, ‘what used to be a jungle looks like toothpicks’

There have been no reported deaths or major injuries from the storm as of Thursday morning but almost the entire island is without power.

MaryJane Rose, a volunteer with the Red Cross, is now on her way to Guam and says she thinks she will be there for about three weeks. Rose says she will be deployed there to help with logistics. She says the operation will work just the same as it would in the states, making sure that everyone there has food, water and everything they need to begin rebuilding.

“Now that things have happened, it’s time to go,” she said. “We have other volunteers that are handling not just logistics, but they’re going to be helping with some of the sheltering and also feeding. We have a number of volunteers that are going to be working with community partners, working with their local agencies.”

Rose says seeing the help get to people in a time of need is what makes working with the Red Cross so rewarding.

“Seeing this entire operation come together, seeing something from the beginning to the end. It’s pretty amazing feat to see that because you have so many moving parts, people from all walks of life, coming together,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people coming together for one single purpose and that’s to alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies, and when I see that, that gives me more hope than anything.”

Rose says that there will be about 200 volunteers from across the country who are headed to Guam. Smaller teams have been there since before the typhoon arrived to begin preparations.

Anyone who would like to become a Red Cross volunteer can sign up here.

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