NORFOLK, Va. — As people in Florida begin to recover Thursday from Hurricane Milton, News 3 is following through.
Before the storm, News 3 looked into what a hurricane evacuation in Hampton Roads might look like. Now, we're looking into what resources are available to help people here in the event of a storm and how the area might recover.
Watch: What could a hurricane evacuation look like in Hampton Roads?
"A lot of our neighbors, they lost a good portion of their roof," said Krystin Kiehnau.
Kiehnau currently lives near Tampa Bay, but used to live in Hampton Roads, and is the sister of a News 3 producer. Kiehnau rode out the storm at her home.
News 3 interviewed her Tuesday. She said she was cautiously optimistic she’d be okay.
"Not going to lie, a little scary," Kiehnau said when asked what riding out the storm was like.
Her house was just fine she said, only having a few shingles loose and tree that was close to uprooting.
The Red Cross is playing a big role in the storm response, helping out at over 300 shelters in Florida.
“We can do the same thing here in Hampton Roads," Red Cross Coastal Region Community Disaster Program Manager Bill Egerton said.
Watch: American Red Cross: Shelters remain open in Florida after Hurricane Milton
Egerton said the Red Cross would begin preparing for a hurricane five days before it hits.
“The Red Cross has identified over 100 potential evacuation centers in the coastal territory. We have done shelter surveys on all of those buildings for structural integrity, for wind-loading, and we also look at what flood plain they’re in," Egerton explained.
The Red Cross regularly trains for disaster responses with other organizations. That includes getting people to shelters.
Watch: Virginia Task Force 2 deploys to Florida in response to Hurricane Milton
Egerton said social services in each city in the area would use community partners, like law enforcement, to evacuate people who can’t evacuate.
After the storm, Red Cross case workers will help people in shelters figure out what to do next.
“They’ll call the clients and figure out what their roadblocks to recovery actually are. Then, we have a really robust online system for referrals that we can refer to our clients and help them. We will follow these clients for weeks sometimes," said Egerton
Watch: How The Florida Aquarium plans to keep its animals safe during Hurricane Milton
In the meantime, it’s a good reminder to make sure you’re prepared for a storm. Egerton recommends having enough food and water to last at least 10 days, figuring out where you could go if you have to evacuate, and knowing your zone.
That means figuring out what hurricane evacuation zone you live in. A map from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management shows the zones as well as evacuation routes.
Know your zone: Find out which hurricane zone you live in
Egerton also recommends downloading the Red Cross Emergency app, which can give you alerts and help you find open shelters. For Apple users, you can download the app here. For Android users, you can download the app here.
