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Local crews head to Florida to clean up storm damage, restore homes following Hurricane Ian

Posted at 5:54 AM, Sep 29, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-29 07:17:23-04

(WXYZ) — As Florida’s west coast begins to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Ian, Michiganders are both on the road and standing by to offer help and resources.

Several Red Cross trucks and local DTE crews have already left for Florida. And at around 9 a.m. Thursday morning, home restoration crews from Belfor Production Warehouse in Livonia will also be hitting the road.

The company is experienced in handling property restoration from disasters like tornados, wildfires, and hurricanes.

“I’ve been watching my ring camera to see if there’s any activity outside the house and it’s just pretty windy and rainy there.”

Christa Gowing is from Madison Heights but is currently living just north of Tampa. She packed up her place with sandbags Tuesday and stayed at a friend’s place further away from the storm.

All she could do Wednesday was watch and wait.

“We have friends and loved ones in Florida and we know what a hurricane can mean for an area," Red Cross volunteer Janie Barner said.

With that in mind, The Red Cross has sent 5 teams from Michigan to help people down in Florida.

DTE sent 350 contract line workers to Florida earlier this week and work will likely begin today.

Belfor workers are on their way down and are also working with two sister companies to help Floridians impacted by residential water damage and home cleaning.