By Selena Hardy, American Red Cross

Hurricane Ian left an extraordinary swath of destruction across Florida. Many residents have returned to piles of rubble where their home once stood. Some will rely on their insurance companies to rebuild, while others will need help from other sources.

Before that assistance can flow, the damage has to be documented.

The American Red Cross has more than 30 teams on the ground compiling detailed residential assessments, counting how many homes have been affected and the extent of the damage. 

Diane Sargent and Clare Winchell, both from New York, make up one of the teams doing that critical work.

Sargent has been with the Red Cross for more than 20 years with over 80 disaster responses under her belt, while Winchell began her Red Cross journey only three months ago and is experiencing her first disaster response.

“I love her (Clare). She’s phenomenal,” Sargent said. “She asked me basic questions that I would expect from any new person, and she just flew.” 

“It’s tough, but it’s good to know that we’re able to do something and be a part of the help,” Winchell said. 

Red Cross teams are doing door-to-door assessments of an estimated 200,000 homes affected by Hurricane Ian, evaluating each as having minor damage, major damage or destroyed.

It’s a massive undertaking, but Red Cross volunteers are averaging nearly 10,000 assessments a day and are committed to completing the work by mid-November. The information they collect will guide the Red Cross and other nonprofits and governmental agencies as they begin issuing individual assistance to impacted residents.

Sargent said that going door-to-door in devastated areas, they find more than property damage. “We saw a man sitting in a chair listening to his transistor radio. He (was) living under a blue tarp on some sort of deck. I sent (word) on to my bosses and they checked on him to provide a ride to a shelter.” 

“If you have the slight thought of volunteering, do it! I highly recommend it to anybody. You’re going to have an amazing experience,” Winchell said. 

The Red Cross and many nonprofits coordinate with local, state and federal agencies like FEMA to provide help after disasters. People affected by Hurricane Ian can apply for federal Disaster Assistance at disasterassistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362 (TTY 1-200-462-7585).

To become a trained disaster volunteer like Sargent and Winchell, go to redcross.org/volunteer or call 1-800-REDCROSS. 

American Red Cross relief is free to anyone with disaster-caused needs, thanks to the generosity of the American people. If you would like to support the Hurricane Ian response financially, visit redcross.org, text the words IAN to 90999 to make a $10 donation, or call 1-800-HELP NOW.