HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Residents in Louisiana are feeling the devastation from the flooding each day that goes by. Since Friday, the historic flooding is responsible for at least eleven deaths and more than 11,000 people are homeless.
Here at home, the Alabama Red Cross is sending volunteers to the state to lend a helping hand.
"Close your eyes, and you think about being in a place and not having anything," said Shirley Crutcher, Emergency Services Program Manager of the North Alabama Red Cross. "Your car is destroyed. You don't have your records as far as personal information, insurance information. You can't get to that information to even try to recover...and your neighbor is the same way."
As residents in Louisiana try to pick up the pieces of what a catastrophic flood took from them - volunteers from the North Alabama Red Cross are ready to help.
"Right now we'll be looking at doing the mass care feeding, and sheltering, to help those that are displaced and can't go back into their homes," said Crutcher.
Volunteers will also be helping with damage assessment and providing supplies in bulk for families. All this - along with a one-way ticket for some.
"We can very well remember everybody that was here during the 2011 tornadoes for the state of Alabama," said Crutcher. "We know what it's like to be so devastated and overwhelmed and I think that's the most important thing that we can help with our neighbors - the fact they can have hope."
Volunteers from the North Alabama Red Cross plan to be in Louisiana through the recovery phase, what Crutcher says can last for months.
To find more information on how you can help or donate, visit the Alabama Red Cross website.