Red Cross volunteer heading east

FARGO — A local Red Cross volunteer will soon leave for his second deployment to the embattled East Coast in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

Roger Hamalainen of Fargo leaves Friday for at least two weeks in New York, according to a release from the Minn-Kota Region Red Cross. He is one of 200 national volunteers called back to assist Red Cross efforts in New York following the superstorm and blizzard-like nor’easter that blasted the area in late October.

During his first deployment, Hamalainen spent more than a month in New York, the release said. Shelters continue to operate at near full capacities as the clean-up continues.

Officials say 90 percent of about 5,500 Red Cross workers on the East Coast are volunteers.

Tags: news, volunteers