Red Cross assesses damage left by Francine in Brownsville

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The American Red Cross was doing damage assessments to homes in Cameron County following flooding left by Tropical Storm Francine.

The Red Cross was partnering with the Cameron County Emergency Management office to determine what kind of assistance might be required for damages to people's homes.

Kayla Gonzalez, Executive Director of the American Red Cross South Texas, said teams visited over 15 homes that reported information and damages to the 1-800 Red Cross phone number.

"What we do is we go, take some pictures, basically just do some identifying, see if we can visually see some damage on the outside, speaking to the clients and seeing if there's anything we can assist them with," Gonzalez said.

She reported that the teams did not see much outside damage during their initial assessments, but they continued visiting homes that requested assistance.

In the case that people required assistance due to flood damage, Gonzalez said the Red Cross can provide resources through their partnering organizations and provide guidance to the families.

"If they're in a home that's unsafe to stay in, we always recommend that they go find somewhere else in the meantime until the water subsides from there," Gonzalez said.

She recommends that people call 1-800 Red Cross if they have flood damage or know someone who has flood damage. People are also encouraged to make $10 donations by texting REDCROSS to 90999.