Red Cross Prepares for Irene

The American Red Cross is moving equipment and personnel into place to help people who may be affected by Hurricane Irene. Timm Heisey with the Red Cross says 45 emergency response vehicles are being staged in Raleigh. He says many Triangle residents signed up to be volunteers after the April tornadoes.

Timm Heisey:  "That's how I got involved with the Red Cross. So we have a number of lists of people who've been attending the trainings, and going online and getting background checks. You want to make sure that you have good, quality volunteers working. We've been notifying them saying 'hey, there's a possibility that you may be activated."
Heisey says volunteers will staff shelters around the state. Shelters are open in Rocky Mount and Wilson. Johnston County officials plan to open a shelter this afternoon.