Local response gearing up as Hurricane Harvey arrives in Texas

Kansas officials are assisting Louisiana and Texas to coordinate resources from other states as they cope with the destruction from Harvey, which came ashore in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane late Friday night.

Kansas is the national coordinating state for the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a multi-state, mutual aid agreement that coordinates interstate assistance to support response and recovery actions during a disaster.

Harvey continued to intensify as the eye moved ashore, with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles an hour.

State officials and local service agencies in Kansas are already responding. Twelve American Red Cross workers from the Kansas-Nebraska-southwest Iowa region are preparing to head to the Gulf Coast to assist in hurricane recovery efforts. Another 50 are on standby, said Jennifer Sanders, executive director of the regional Red Cross office.

The Red Cross opened more than 17 shelters to provide lodging for those who evacuated ahead of the approaching hurricane, she said.

The Salvation Army’s Wichita Command office has received inquiries of concern to donate corporate gifts and major in-kind donations, said Craig Davis, director of community engagement, in a prepared statement. Those offers are being directed to a national representative.

“At this time, small offers of in-kind donations outside the disaster area are not needed,” Davis said.

Instead, donors are being encouraged to make financial donations. In-kind donations should be taken to a local Salvation Army thrift store, Davis said.

Kansans who want to donate or provide assistance to those in Texas can go to https://www.fema.gov/volunteer-donate-responsibility.

This story was originally published August 25, 2017 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Local response gearing up as Hurricane Harvey arrives in Texas."