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Connecticut Red Cross volunteers heading to Florida for Hurricane Ian relief efforts

Four volunteers departed from Farmington Thursday and will arrive at a staging area in Orlando, FL before deploying to hardest hit areas.

FARMINGTON, Conn. — Connecticut volunteers are on their way down to Florida now to help with hurricane relief efforts. Four volunteers with the American Red Cross left Connecticut Thursday to join more than two dozen others from the Connecticut-Rhode Island area.

Hurricane Ian slammed Florida, leaving behind widespread devastation.

"Gas stations destroyed, neighborhoods underwater," said Branford native, Griffin Pierson. He is now living in Fort Myers, FL.

RELATED: Connecticut volunteers assist with Hurricane Ian relief efforts

Southington native Sarah Zimmerman is now living in Sarasota, FL. For the first time, she had to prepare for a major hurricane.

"Originally we thought that Sarasota would be directly hit so that's why we were so nervous and you know we boarded up the windows and did all the sandbags," she said. "We just didn't know where to start. You know no one hands you and guide and is like hey this is how to handle a hurricane in Florida," she said.

Fortunately, the area did not get hit as badly as was first expected.

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However in Fort Myers, where Pierson lives, the hurricane caused significant damage.

"We looked outside, all of a sudden the flood starts coming. Comes up really quick and we started panicking because we didn't think the flood was going to come and get to us because we live like 10 miles from the beach," he said.

It's what the Red Cross volunteers are now preparing to encounter.

RELATED: Connecticut crews and volunteers respond to areas impacted by hurricanes

"The challenges will be to get from here to where we need to be. Highways are flooded, bridges will be out, roads are just destroyed. Communication is a big problem," said Joe Apicelli, a volunteer from Groton.

It will be his 53rd deployment in his 17 years with the Red Cross.

He's part of a crew heading down in an emergency response vehicle equipped with insulated food and beverage containers that can hold up to 450 meals at a time. They'll be serving food at shelters, and going right into communities in need. Volunteers will also be helping with sheltering efforts.

"We have enough supplies on the ground now for 60-thousand people to be sheltered," said Jon Basso, disaster program manager for the American Red Cross.

In what is a dark time for many Floridians, they also hope to be a beacon of light.

"The Red Cross emblem I'm proudly showing on my badge is a signal of hope and that's what we're going to do we're going to be, a sign of hope," Apicelli said.

The volunteers are expecting to be in Florida for at least two weeks if not longer.

Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at gmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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