West Tennesseans help with Hurricane Relief Efforts

JACKSON, Tenn. — In the wake of Hurricane Michael, West Tennesseans are volunteering to help their neighbors.

Tim Cook, from Atoka, is working with Southwest Electric Cooperation to restore power to the residents of Cairo, Georgia.

“Right now the damage is widespread. It’s pretty bad,” Tim Curlin, employee at Southwest Electric Cooperation, said.

Even the cell phone service was bad, but he was able to show us what he’s working on.

“This is what the road we’re working on now (I don’t know if I can make this work). This is actually a road that’s about five miles long, and that’s, as you can see the trees in the road, that’s what we’ve been dealing with everywhere,” Curlin said.

He says the teams are clearing debris so first responders can reach people in need.

“They’re out helping EMS and emergency services just so they can get down the road because debris and stuff is that bad,” Curlin said.

If you want to help in the relief efforts, the Red Cross has an opportunity for you.

“We ask people send monetary donations,” David Brumley, volunteer at Midwest Tennessee American Red Cross, said.

That’s so they can get supplies to the people in need more quickly.

“We can buy it on the spot in the quantities that we need it, the sizes that we need it, and that sort of thing,” Brumley said.

“And donating is easy. All you have to do is text michael to 90999 to send $10 to relief efforts,” Brumley said.