By Marcia Antipa, American Red Cross Public Affairs

As Hurricane Ian bore down on Florida, Alia Sweis rode the storm out alone in her parents’ Naples condo. She did not have time to evacuate before Ian slammed into the coast.

“I got the message at 7 p.m. to evacuate Zone A, and by the time I grabbed my cat and my belongings, and I got a second notice that tornadoes were coming and not to leave.”

Alia grabbed her cat and hunkered down in a bathroom that she had turned into a shelter, with water, a pillow, blankets and a battery-operated candle and radio.

She watched the hurricane bear down, carrying a 12-foot storm surge and 155-mile-an-hour winds. Within 45 minutes the first two floors of the condo building were flooded. 

Alia begins to cry as she recalls those hours. “I was so scared as I was seeing what was happening. I was confronting my biggest fear, like head-on, my security and my safety, am I gonna make this? I just surrendered and listened to the radio DJ who said, ‘We are in this together everyone, stay together, we’ll make it through.’”

Soon after her experience, Alia came to the Red Cross Disaster Headquarters in Fort Myers, to volunteer to help those impacted by Ian. She is part of the approximately 3,000 local Disaster Event Based Volunteers (DEBV) that signed up to help after Hurricane Ian

Jessica Tate manages those workers. She appreciates these local, community volunteers who want to assist after their experience. To get them helping quickly, these new volunteers get an expedited background check, and then start to volunteer.

Now Alia is volunteering for the Red Cross in Southern Florida to help others affected by the storm.

Alia and her fellow workers assemble kits for communities hit hard by the storm. The kits contain cleaning supplies, gloves, flashlights, batteries and other items to help people toward the road to recovery.

Now Alia is considering a career change and is thinking about a permanent role with the Red Cross.

“I want to work for this company,” says Alia.  “I believe in it.”

Thank you for volunteering, Alia! If you are interested in volunteering for the American Red Cross, visit RedCross.org/volunteer