Red Cross volunteers from Pittsburgh headed to Louisiana to assist in Hurricane Ida relief

Paul Peirce
Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021 8:55 a.m. | Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021 8:55 a.m.

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AP

John Smith of Pelican Ice tosses bags of ice to the end of a truck as he helps stock a gas station in Jefferson, La., as residents prepare for Tropical Storm Ida on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021. Forecasters now say Ida is a major Category 4 hurricane with top winds of 150 mph as it nears the U.S. coast.

Two volunteers from the Red Cross in Pittsburgh are among 14 volunteers from across Pennsylvania heading to Louisiana Sunday to aid in Hurricane Ida relief efforts.

Volunteers Charlie Williamson and John Breitweiser will depart from the Red Cross office on Liberty Avenue just before noon Sunday, according to Red Cross spokeswoman Lisa Landis.

Hurricane Ida became a Category 4 storm early Sunday with sustained winds of 150 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane is projected to make landfall in southeast Louisiana by Sunday evening, forecasters said.

The volunteers will head down in a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle that will provide meals and support to those impacted by Hurricane Ida.

“Both volunteers will join the fourteen others deployed from across the 61-county footprint of the American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region,” Landis said.

“In total, more than 500 Red Crossers have deployed to support relief efforts in advance of Hurricane Ida with hundreds more mobilized to support relief efforts after landfall,” she said.