The American Red Cross is rapidly mobilizing volunteers and relief supplies as Helene bears down on communities in the Florida panhandle, bringing catastrophic storm surge, winds and flooding.
One of the more than 360 trained disaster workers in route now is Mt. Prospect native Pattie Eakin.
The retired teacher was deployed to Tampa Wednesday night to help those in need, as Helene makes landfall.
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While Eakin has volunteered at Red Cross shelters in Chicago, this will be her first time deploying to a disaster, as a volunteer.
"I am honored that the Red Cross is providing this opportunity for me that I can then go and help people, because this all started back when Katrina came about," Eakin said. "As a lot of people wanted to do at the time, I really wanted to go down and help those poor people down in Katrina. At the time of the crisis, that's not the time to be signing up to help because you have to be trained."
Eakin said she's gone through extensive training the past year with the Red Cross and she's ready for whatever comes.
Her experience as a high school teacher managing large groups of people and thinking quickly on her feet will help in this case.