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Red Cross rehearses hurricane efforts

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TBO.com

Published: August 15, 2009

TAMPA - With the prospect of some very nasty storms looming in the Atlantic, the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Red Cross drilled themselves today and moved some supplies into the region, just in case West Central Florida is smacked by a hurricane.

The drill comes as Floridians keep a wary eye on tropical storms Ana and Bill, churning through the Atlantic, possibly heading this way.

About 80 Tampa Bay chapter staff and volunteers walked through a hurricane shelter operations drill at Middleton High School in Tampa, testing shelter procedures and giving volunteers an idea of what it's like to be involved in shelter operations, said a news release issued by the American Red Cross today.

The chapter also focused on redistribution of emergency items in the event of a direct strike by a storm. Recently, the organization reassessed where to stockpile the goods and decided to place a big chunk of the stock in the Tampa Bay area.

Those supplies include:

• A dozen 53-foot shelter support trailers each of which holds 800 cots, 800 comfort kits and 1,625 blankets - enough supplies to support 9,600 people. The trailers are parked in secured areas around the Tampa Bay area.

• 30,000 shelf stable meals which were delivered to a West Pasco County storage facility.

• Kitchen support trailers, each 53 feet long and carrying 50 beverage containers, 150 food carriers, 4,000 food liners and 100 ice chests.

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