Alabama State University officials minutes ago announced a partnership with the American Red Cross to shelter evacuees from Hurricane Irma target areas in the university’s Acadome athletic complex.
The arena will be available to admit displaced residents from Florida and other areas beginning at 6:00 p.m. In a release, school officials applauded the Red Cross, Alabama Emergency Management Agency, and ASU community members for quickly readying the facility as a refuge from the historic storm.
“We are allowing the Red Cross to use the ASU Dunn-Oliver Acadome Concourse as an official Hurricane Irma shelter, where they may house those who need shelter and assistance from what may be this century’s most catastrophic storm,” Alabama State Interim President Leon Wilson said. “While the Red Cross and EMA personnel will be in charge of the process, the University community will be present to welcome the victims and assist in making ASU their home away from home.”
Hurricane Irma has ravaged parts of the Caribbean and is expected to make landfall in Florida this evening. It is the second major hurricane to hit the southeastern United States in two weeks, following Hurricane Harvey’s massive impact on Texas and Louisiana.
Hurricane Irma: Assessing the Damage, and What’s Next
Desperation is mounting on some Caribbean islands where the storm first made landfall on Wednesday. Read about how people there are handling severe food and water shortages. how This story describes how Puerto Ricans, who were spared the worst of the storm, have been helping their neighbors. For hurricane-hardened Florida, Irma was different.
