"My cell phone has no power; I need to tell my family I am alive,” and “I need to get on the internet and get ahold of my insurance agent and apply for FEMA assistance."

These are the kind of urgent needs people have after a disaster such as Hurricane Ian wipes out the communication channels Americans rely on every day.

American Red Cross volunteer David Sewell is trained to meet those needs with a special truck, known as MOVE – Mobile Outreach for Voluntary Engagement.

After Superstorm Sandy highlighted the need for rapid replacement of cellphone service, the Red Cross and the Institute of Electrical and Technical Engineers (IEEE) teamed up to create a solution.

The MOVE truck is sent to the hardest-hit disaster areas where utility poles and cell towers have been knocked out.

The unit is self-contained with its own generator, so it can quickly set up and provide temporary power and communications to start services to people affected by a disaster.

Sewell and his partner, Walt Burns, staffed the MOVE truck on Pine Island not long after a bridge was repaired from the south Florida mainland to the barrier island. Sewell is from Missouri, and Burns is from Colorado; both are members of IEEE.

“Disaster survivors are able to reach out to their loved ones (to say) that they survived the disaster and are alive,” Sewell said. “With MOVE and the Red Cross, we’re able to connect those who are hurting with families who are fearing the worst.”

American Red Cross relief is free to anyone with disaster-caused needs, thanks to the generosity of the American people. To become a trained disaster volunteer, like Sewell and Burns, go to redcross.org/volunteer or call 1-800-REDCROSS.

Written by Peter Teahen and Andy Klein, American Red Cross Public Affairs