Hurricane Milton: Local first responders, organizations head to Florida; how you can help
CENTER CITY - The list of first responders and local organizations going to Florida to help with Hurricane Milton recovery is continuing to grow.
The American Red Cross of Southeastern PA sent four volunteers in two vehicles from Philadelphia on Thursday morning to head to Tallahassee to start.
"We’re able to get supplies right to the folks that need it so it’s emergency supplies, it’s food," says volunteer Marty Westermann.
PPL Electric says they sent 40 lineworkers and support personnel, along with 40 contractor line workers to Florida Power and Light to assist in restoration efforts.
As part of their mutual assistance network, PECO crews deployed 40 employees and 26 trucks earlier in the week, around the same time that their crews came home from North Carolina after helping with Hurricane Helene aftermath.
Hurricane Milton aftermath: Millions without power as deaths, flooding reported
Milton moved through Florida on Thursday after slamming into the state as a Category 3 hurricane – causing at least five deaths and leaving millions without power.
The PECO crews expect to get to work over the next few days, wherever Tampa Electric needs them.
"It’s a way for us to enlarge that workforce, especially when you have such devastating impacts like we’re seeing with Milton right now," says spokesperson, Greg Smore. "It makes it a lot harder to get to places where you need to be, so whenever you have to rebuild those portions of the electric grid, it takes time, it takes people."
100 guardsmen and 44 vehicles left from Seaford, Delaware, on Thursday morning as well, and Pennsylvania State Police say they deployed 54 troopers to Florida.
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Residents of St. Petersburg and Orlando talk to FOX 29 and describe the conditions as Hurricane Milton makes landfall.
In Medford, New Jersey, non-profit Return Kindness partnered with the Flying W Airport and Resort and Lumberton Township Police to collect donations. They accept donations daily from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., and will be hosting a big collection on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
They are asking for chewable Benadryl, socks, can openers, dry milk, generators, batteries, flashlights, extension cords, monetary donations, bottled water, personal hygiene products, wipes, diapers from infant to adult sizes, feminine hygiene products, baby formula, and pet food.