'We've got to be compassionate': Locals assist with Hurricane Ian disaster relief

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Employees with the Portland District of U.S. Army Corp of Engineers are helping people on the other side of the country, who are dealing with Hurricane Ian.

The Corp of Engineers has moved its Operation Blue Roof call center to Portland. Operation Blue Roof provides victims of natural disasters with a free temporary roof, which is made of fiber-reinforced sheeting.

Operation Blue Roof is managed by the corps of engineers on behalf of FEMA. It used to operate out of Jacksonville, Fla. Now, dozens of corps volunteers from the Portland district will take calls from Hurricane Ian victims.

Volunteers have spent the last few days training for high call loads. KOIN 6 News spoke with Colonel Mike Helton, who said the team is ready to serve the folks in Florida and South Carolina.

"We know and we talked about this the last couple of days. We know there are going to be people who are at their wits (end). There are going to be people who are hurting really bad. We've got to be compassionate. We've got to be empathetic and we have the right team to do just that," he said.

Call center volunteers take information from callers including their name and address, then that information goes to teams on the ground in Florida that will assess the roof damage.

The colonel tells says the Portland district was asked to take on this mission last week, which meant they only had seven days to get everything prepared.