Hundreds call Beacon Middle School home during Irene

Judy Hubbard stopped by the Red Cross shelter at Beacon Middle School to help out. She ended up spending the weekend there.

A steady stream of people poured into the shelter – some riding their bikes – from coastal areas under a mandatory evacuation. By the time Hurricane Irene arrived, more than 500 people were filling the halls, cafeteria and gymnasium at the school.

Shelter coordinator Cami D’Attilio – along with Steve Cook – had blood-shot eyes the morning after the hurricane; she had not slept for 50 straight hours. “We had no trouble at all; everything went perfect,” she said as breakfast was being served.

Electricity went out a few times during the night of the hurricane, but it was not out for a long period, she said.  At first cots were a problem, but by late Saturday, Aug. 27, the shelter had been outfitted with more than 150 cots. Some brought their own inflatable beds, some rigged up makeshift beds out of chairs and others spread out blankets and pillows and slept on the floor.

D’Attilio thanked Walmart for donating 42 blankets and 42 pillows and Lazy Susan’s and Grotto Pizza for donating food to supplement Red Cross supplies.

Hubbard said many of those in the shelter were foreign students working in the Cape Region for the summer. “Many were terrified because they don’t have storms like this in their country,” she said. “I ended up going out to pick up some of the students because they don’t have transportation.”

Hubbard knew some of the students as a volunteer through an outreach program at New Covenant Presbyterian Church.

People staying at the shelter had nothing but praise for Red Cross and Americorps volunteers. National Guard and Delaware State Police were also on hand at the shelter.

“Everyone has been phenomenal,” said Elsie Perry who left her home in Pot Nets near Long Neck to spend two nights in the shelter. “The Red Cross has been outstanding. It’s been way better than I ever thought; I couldn’t be happier,” she said.

Her newfound friend Leslie Swift, who lives in the Villages of Five Points in Lewes, echoed Perry’s compliments. “Volunteers were walking around all the time asking if we were all right,” she said. “Many people who were total strangers are now friends.”

Perry said she would never hesitate to relocate to a Red Cross shelter if another evacuation was ever ordered.

Neither lady got much sleep over the weekend, which was the norm. “Many had not seen a hurricane before and wanted to see what it was all about,” D’Attilio said.

Like everyone else at the shelter, Jackie Barrall and Phil Alperin were anxious to return to their Angola Beach home. “We can’t get there fast enough. I’m worried about the roof,” Alperin said.

Evacuees were permitted to leave when the state-mandated driving restriction was lifted at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 28.

But work still remained for Red Cross volunteers. “We have to clean up and get the school back in shape,” D’Attilio said.