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Red Cross volunteers from Central Florida in Louisiana to help residents impacted by hurricane

ORLANDO, Fla. — Red Cross volunteers from Central Florida are already in place to help the people of Louisiana recover from the impact of the first hurricane of the season.

Officials said they sent about a dozen workers ahead of the storm, which is expected to drop feet of rain in some areas over the weekend.

“We hunker down during the storm, and once the storm has passed, then we will go out and do what we need to, to provide people with the comfort, shelter and food that they need,” said Janice Moran, with the Red Cross.

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Those 12 workers were initially sent to areas where they expected the storm to hit hardest, but a spokesperson said they could now be on the move.

Moran said they're using the Red Cross emergency app to monitor where they're needed most, in part based on where shelters are opening.

As of Saturday afternoon, there are around a dozen shelters open near New Orleans.

Red Cross officials said some of their volunteers will be moving to help at those sites as more people affected by the storm need help.

Another 25 volunteers are in Central Florida on standby to go out behind the storm's path.

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