Kim Berghs grew up on the south side of Milwaukee, where hurricanes were a phenomenon that happened somewhere else. In 1992, though, she was living in North Fort Myers, Florida, working at a residential facility in neighboring Charlotte County that housed troubled teens.

A few years earlier, she'd gone to the Red Cross for water safety, first aid and CPR training so she could teach those skills to the youths she worked with. She became a Red Cross volunteer, training people to be lifeguards and instructors.

Anticipating a need for more shelter volunteers in Western Florida, the Red Cross called in Berghs and other health and safety volunteers prior to landfall for shelter training.

"Everybody from Miami and Fort Lauderdale was coming across the state. They were thinking they could hide from Andrew," she said.

Berghs was assigned to a shelter at Charlotte High in Charlotte County and recalled her drive up to U.S. 41 as being “very quiet, too quiet.” She added: “It was my first hurricane. Streetlights and trees were starting to swing. It was an eerie feeling.”

After getting to the shelter, she recalled: "We all rode it out with no major harm to us. Thank goodness for the teamwork of the first responders, EOC [Emergency Operations Center] and Red Cross, and a few high school staff. It was shelter 101 at its finest. This is why we train in blue skies, and I encourage volunteers to cross train in some other areas for times like this."

Today, Berghs continues to volunteer with the Red Cross as Community Preparedness Educator.  

Written by Marjie Lambert, American Red Cross Public Affairs