MARCO ISLAND, Fla. -- — Crews from across the country headed to Louisiana to help the state after it was devastated by Hurricane Ida, and one of those crews was from Southwest Florida.
Allan Garry and five other people with the Marco Patriots headed to the area with supplies before Ida made landfall so they would be ready as soon as possible.
#Houma | #HurricaneIda #Damage NE side of town.
Terrible. These people really need some help. pic.twitter.com/fIsAOOh6hw— Marco Patriots (@MarcoPatriotsHQ) August 31, 2021
After the storm passed, Garry and the rest of the team got to work earlier which has been tough considering there are thousands of people in dire need of help.
“We found an elderly lady, she had dementia and she couldn’t speak," Allan Garry said about one of their earlier rescues. "Team Rubicon came by and we flagged them down. They had an EMT with them and they said she needed to go to the hospital. We did everything we could, we stood in the middle of I-10 and waved down helicopters and it worked, she got medevaced out.”
This isn’t Garry's first mission with the Marco patriots. The team helps with disaster relief across the country. In fact, they were just in Tennessee following the flash flooding in Waverly. However, Garry said the damage left behind by Ida is unlike anything he’s seen before.
“Usually a storm comes through and you have a lot of storm damage, or with Florence, you have a lot of water damage," said Garry. "I’m not going to say it's both of them together but there are some spots that are very reminiscent of Florence and other parts that are very much like Michael.”
At the moment— Garry said things are still chaotic. They’ve been working with other small groups, police departments, and the coast guard to get the job done.
“We’re all on the same mission to save people. Get them safe, make sure they’re good, and move onto the next one. You don’t have time to think of the other stuff when you're in the thick of it.”
Multipurpose vehicle to haul supplies, provide a cooling station and a place for our volunteers to sleep. #hurricanerelief #HURRICANEIDARELIEF #houma #TerrebonneParish #LouisianaStrong ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/ALLbwEV7Pq
— Marco Patriots (@MarcoPatriotsHQ) September 1, 2021
The Marco Patriots have been posting updates for supplies needed to their social media pages. You canclick here to see their latest posts if you would also like to help.
