Red Cross opens shelter in Brunswick ahead of storm

Sep. 30—The American Red Cross opened a shelter at 2900 Albany St. in Brunswick on Wednesday for residents seeking a safe place to stay as Hurricane Ian passed the coast.

In Camden County, a shelter is open in Kingsland at the recreation center, 1050 Wildcat Drive.

In Brunswick, Red Cross volunteers are staffing the shelter, which has a 75-person capacity.

Around 30 people were there early Thursday afternoon when winds and light rain arrived in Glynn County as the storm made its way across Florida.

Shelter organizers have asked citizens to come to the shelter if they are in need of a safer place to stay or have a compromised living situation during the storm.

Space in the shelter is available on a first-come, first-serve basis and will not be available after the storm passes.

Anybody who needs shelter is welcome, said Jim Ball, a Red Cross volunteer working at the Brunswick site.

"Just come on in," he said. "They don't need anything. All we ask them is their name and a few minor, non-specific questions. But if they need shelter and food, water, we have that."

The shelter will be open 24 hours a day.

Staff from the local health department and the Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) were also onsite Thursday to aid those at the shelter.

The community has been supportive since the Red Cross arrived Wednesday, said volunteer Jamie Hicks, who drove down from Athens. Other volunteers are from Albany and Cordele.

Fox's Pizza donated pizzas. The Salvation Army also supplied meals.

The decision on when to close the shelter will be made as the storm's impact on Glynn County becomes more clear, Ball said.