LENEXA, Kan. – As Hurricane Irma moved closer to the Caribbean and Florida Tuesday night, emergency relief groups continued to plan their responses in the days ahead.
Heart to Heart International, which is based in Lenexa, said a mobile medical team will move from Texas to Florida to help people in need.
The medical team initially responded to Hurricane Harvey and offered assistance in areas that saw devastation.
"We went down to where the eye of the hurricane came through and we've been treating patients ever since," explained Heart to Heart International CEO Jim Mitchum. "Right now, Houston is still suffering. There are still places that are very flooded."
Mitchum and his team must now navigate through the challenge of having to help multiple states affected by major hurricanes.
On Tuesday, Mitchum said the situation required a response unlike any other Heart to Heart has overseen in the past.
"When you have two hurricanes in the continental U.S. this close back-to-back, that will be unique to us," he explained. "We train for disaster response all the time. I can't tell you that we've trained for double hurricanes in the same month."
With Hurricane Irma moving closer, Mitchum said Heart to Heart will preposition its mobile medical unit to respond shortly after the storm moves through affected areas.
"(The mobile medical unit) has been restocked," he explained. "It'll have a fresh crew on board, a new medical team."
Forecasters have upgraded Hurricane Irma to a category five storm. It now has winds of up to 185 miles per hour and will bring heavy rain and likely flooding.
"Even if that slows down a little bit, when it hits Florida it could be extremely damaging and dangerous," Mitchum said. "We could find this one being a very big, damaging wind event in Florida causing huge destruction."
Mitchum added that crews will continue helping people in Texas following Hurricane Harvey.
"That response (in Texas) has not gone down and will not go down until we're finished," he explained. "The people in Florida will know that we're on the way."
Heart to Heart International has medical crews in Haiti on standby.
The organization is also looking into working with its partners in other countries that may see damage from Hurricane Irma.
