EDGEWOOD, Md. — This week, communities in the southeastern United States are facing the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene, including severe damage and flooding. As of Monday, about 100 people are dead.
Folks from the Baltimore area are lending a helping hand on the ground.
WMAR caught up with Maj. Eric Gonzalez with the Harford County Sheriff's Office. Gonzalez and two other sheriff's deputies drove to Hickory, North Carolina on Monday morning, with more preparing to help later this week.
"When you hear that type of a call come out, you obviously want to get down there," said Gonzalez.
"We're basically going down as an incident management team, an IMT," Gonzalez explained. "So we could be put in charge of a critical incident going on, or managing a shelter or managing recovery efforts. It could be a number of things."
Days ago, the hurricane barreled through several states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
READ MORE: Marylanders helping in the aftermath of Helene
Addie Bowers, a Red Cross volunteer from Annapolis, is one of roughly two dozen deployed to help after the storm, handing out supplies and helping those in need.
"It's very hard for the clients, and I know they don't have power. So I feel for them," Bowers told WMAR.
"I understand what they have been through. I have been through 4 hurricanes myself," Bowers recalled, calling WMAR-2 News from the Florida panhandle.
The Red Cross is collecting donations to help those affected. You can also text 'HELENE' to 90999.
