ORLANDO, Fla. – The devastation caused by Hurricane Laura along the eastern Texas border with Louisiana has left at least four people dead and dozens without power and their homes ripped apart. To assist with disaster relief efforts, the Red Cross of Central Florida region deployed more than 20 volunteers.
News 6 spoke with a retired U.S Air Force veteran who has been a volunteer for the Central Florida chapter for five years and is getting ready to fly to Houston from where he’ll then travel to the Louisiana border.
“Like with every relief operation that we have, we’re going into the unknown,” John Lanzetti said.
The 65-year-old does damage assessment and is among the first to arrive.
“The team that I’m on, we go out there -- we’re the first team in for the Red Cross, both at home and out there on disaster relief operations. So, we really don’t know what we’re getting into,” he said.
Lanzetti, a native of upstate New York, said every experience is different but all have the same denominator when he witnesses the devastation and pain suffered by the victims.
“When we do damage assessment, we’re seeing the people a lot of times, for the first time when they’ve either gotten back to their homes or if they’ve even weathered out a storm and usually it’s not a pleasant situation,” he said.
He recalled one of those situations when he encountered a Texas ranger whose home had been wiped out by a river.
“We were along the river and along the river, all of the homes were wiped out and up comes a Texas ranger,” Lanzetti recalled, adding, “And he goes ‘yeah, that was my home there’ I said: ‘Where you been out man?’ and he says: ‘Well, I’ve been helping people out for the last 72 hours’. This big 6-foot 8 guy looks at me and just breaks down. I mean, he just lost it and that was probably one of the most memorable moments that I ever had.”
The Red Cross Central Florida region is deploying 21 volunteers: about 6 of them from Orlando. On Tuesday, News 6 caught up with two volunteers as they were getting ready to fly out to Houston and Louisiana.
For Lanzetti, the reward in being part of the organization comes during those dark moments when those who have lost everything realize their new reality.
“To me, it’s extremely helpful to go ahead and help somebody that’s probably at their lowest point in their life,” Lanzetti said. “When you’re there as a Red Cross responder and you’re able to provide that comfort to that individual and show them that little light at the end of the tunnel, that little ray of hope. It’s very self-satisfying if you will to take yourself and put yourself out there for somebody else.”