Flying Out of Their Comfort Zone

By David Ullman, Red Cross writer

The day before Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida, American Red Cross volunteers Bob and Ann Cibelli flew from their home in Maine to their second disaster deployment.  As Floridians evacuated, the Cibellis approached. They were part of the first wave of relief workers who arrived pre-landfall to ensure the Red Cross was in place, ready to respond as soon as the storm passed. It also meant the Cibellis were literally flying into the path of hurricane. 

Flight UAL2135 and Hurricane Ian

“When we arrived Tuesday afternoon, the day before Hurricane Ian, a thousand Red Cross volunteers from all over the country were flying into Florida,” Ann remembered.

The Cibellis joined the Red Cross in August of 2021, about a year into their retirement. Ann had received an email about the urgent need for disaster zone shelter volunteers who could deploy for two-week stretches with very little notice.

Ann posed to Bob, “When in our life would we ever have this time again, where we are young enough to go and be able to do it at a moment’s notice?” 

The following month they deployed to New Jersey, assisting the hundreds of people displaced by Hurricane Ida.  

One year later, Hurricane Ian was their second experience with a natural disaster operation. Upon arriving in Orlando, they were assigned to a state-run evacuation shelter in Tampa, where they worked with the county emergency management team to shelter the 500 evacuees as the Category 4 hurricane raged to the south. 

“We got to see how other organizations run their shelters, which was great.  They did really well. Really well staffed and well run,” said Ann.

The Cibellis worked at the evacuation shelter until the hurricane passed and the evacuees left. They were then reassigned to the Red Cross emergency shelter at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida. These residents had been displaced by flooding and had only what they carried with them, yet they helped each other. 

“They looked like they had nothing coming in. Maybe they had one little bag of clothes. But they were sharing with each other,” Ann remembered.

“There was a woman in a summer dress," Bob continued, "She was in this shelter with nothing but that dress. This other woman said, ‘Here’s a pair of leggings. Here’s a shirt for you.’”

The Cibellis also met a Marine and his wife at the shelter. Flooding had destroyed their home and ruined their truck. 

  

“He (the Marine) had set an alarm for every half hour to get up to check the water level to see if there was any flooding. He had checked and there was no water. And the next thing he knows, he was in water up to his chest. It actually broke through the wall of his apartment. Luckily, they both got out alive,” said Bob.

Ann still clearly remembers the conversation with the Marine – and his feeling of futility.

“He said, ‘I’m a Marine. I’m used to helping other people, taking care of my family and taking care of everything. Now I don’t know what to do,’” she recalled from their conversations. 

As more volunteers arrived to work in the shelters, the Cibellis volunteered to venture into the field with the Disaster Emergency Supplies (DES) division. DES coordinated with community partners to determine what recovery supplies would be needed in the different communities.  

“That's when we ended up taking a box truck full of supplies down to Fort Myers. There we were handing out supplies in neighborhoods,” said Bob. “Setting up point of presence areas where we would hand out food, rakes, shovels, clean-up kits, carts and things like that."

“We got work with more Red Cross volunteers in different areas,” said Ann. “Their job was to communicate with the community partners to coordinate where we should have these points of presence. They must have put it out in the news and social media because clients would just show up. It was amazing. Hundreds of people would show up who needed supplies and they were so thankful to see the Red Cross.”

After two weeks in the areas devastated by Ian, the Cibellis returned to Maine. They have already volunteered to return to Florida, if needed.

“We wanted to get deployed now so that we would relieve people who want to be home for the holidays,” said Bob. 

“It’s such a good feeling to know that you are doing something for others. I want more of that,” said Ann. “I find it an excellent way to make good use of my past experience, my own strengths and also to get out of my comfort zone a little bit. It’s very stimulating to apply your skills, learn and meet new people. You return home feeling like you really made a difference.” 

For more information on how you can become a disaster responder with the Red Cross, visit: www.redcross.org/VolunteerNNE