A standing-room only crowd was on hand this afternoon as the San Antonio chapter of the Red Cross trained volunteers on how to manage the dozens of emergency shelters that are opening in the area to house Hurricane Harvey evacuees, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Red Cross Executive Director Henry Van de Putte says because of the turnout, a second session will be held on Saturday.He says shelter volunteers perform all different types of shelter jobs.
"They will be doing everything from logistics, packing up supplies, intake of evacuees, managing and feeding those evacuees," he said.
Thousands of people have evacuated from the coast ahead of Hurricane Harvey and they have sought out shelter in San Antonio.Van de Putte says this is a particularly difficult storm to handle, due to its duration.
"We do ask our shelter workers to work a 12 hour shift," he said. "I know people have other commitments, but this will be a commitment."
He says since the storm will stall along the coast is a cause for concern, and could require shelters to remain open for five days.He says there is also another concern.
"Once it hits, we will not only have a mass of people coming in here for safety, but the folks who are volunteers may need the Red Cross help," due to flooding, he said.
He says it's a challenge, but he's used to it."Its complicated only because humanity is complicated," he said.