North Bay American Red Cross member in Georgia helping with Hurricane Helene’s destruction

As people in the Southeast pick up the pieces and figure out how to move forward after Hurricane Helene, volunteers from the American Red Cross are working around the clock in six states to help those who need it.

“It left thousands of lives changed forever. There was death and destruction – miles of which we haven’t even completely covered yet,” said John McMahon, with the Red Cross.

McMahon is from Solano County and is a member of the American Red Cross North Bay Chapter.

He’s working as a damage assessment manager in Georgia, sending teams out daily to survey and identify storm damage across 60 counties in the state.

“There are still some areas that are inaccessible. We’ve still got people who are missing,” he said.

He’s been in many disaster zones throughout his time with the American Red Cross.

“Every disaster is different. But, this one is huge,” he said. “The only one I can compare it to would be Superstorm Sandy.”

Millions of people throughout the region were without power. In Georgia, he says the situation is starting to improve.

“The power outages in the state of Georgia has dropped from over a million down to 143,000 now,” he said.

When the call came in to help, McMahon was ready to go.

“I’m going to be here at least two weeks, that’s my initial commitment,” he said. “I’ll probably be here longer than that.”

Why he’s compelled to help?

“I do it because it’s the humanitarian thing to do. I mean, we help each other,” he said.

And, it feels good to do good.

“See, I’m going to tear up just telling you about this. But, it’s people appreciate what we do,” he said. “They show their appreciation. It’s what makes it worth doing, it’s why we do what we do.”

There is a long and difficult road ahead for the folks who live in the region. McMahon takes pride in the fact that he plays a role in helping them find their way.

If you’d like to donate to the American Red Cross, you can text “Helene” to 90999. If you’d like to learn more about volunteering, head to their website.