Countywide : Red Cross to Hold Disaster Workshop

Sixty American Red Cross volunteers will set up mock relief shelters in Brea today to prepare them for future disasters like hurricanes Iniki and Andrew.

“The more we train Red Cross volunteers in Orange County, the better prepared we will be to meet our neighbors’ disaster-caused needs after a major disaster,” said Peter Rowe, mass care chairman for the county chapter. “Hurricanes Andrew and Iniki have stressed the importance of preparedness and quick response.”

Orange County Red Cross volunteers and staffers are currently deployed in disaster relief efforts in Louisiana and Guam as well as Hawaii, spokeswoman Judy Iannaccone said. At today’s workshops, volunteers will role-play all the characters essential to a shelter operation--including the victims.

Gordon Brown of Irvine and Priscilla Schoch of Westminster are among 240 Red Cross workers from the mainland operating emergency shelters and assessing damage in Kauai. Brown is running a shelter, and Schoch is coordinating Hawaiian volunteer efforts.

Both are veterans of natural disasters. A full-time Red Cross volunteer for the past six years, Schoch spent 42 days in 1989 helping out victims of Hurricane Hugo.

Brown has provided relief after 11 disasters in the past 13 years.