We’re prone to use buckets, but dump trucks would have been a more accurate way to describe the rain from Tropical Storm Hermine that pounded Austin for two days. The beating has caused flooded homes and waterways, missing people, boil water notices and a high demand for relief forces.

The American Red Cross of Central Texas opened three shelters in the area Wednesday where food and blankets were distributed to local citizens, all without the use of several disaster vehicles that had been vandalized. The shelters have since been closed as people return home, but the organization is concerned about the next time such a storm comes through town. The disaster has exposed not only a depleted budget but a shortage of Red Cross volunteers.

"I visited our shelter in Round Rock before dawn on Saturday and had the privilege of personally handing blankets to elderly folks shivering in their wet nightclothes," CenTex Red Cross CEO Marty McKellips said. "It reminded me that if we wait to raise money until a disaster occurs, those folks would have to spend a long time shivering."

"The only reason that we’re able to do what we did [this week] – providing shelter and food for people – is because people actually donated before a disaster," said CenTex Red Cross Communications Coordinator Amir Roohi, who added that the organization is funded entirely by donations and does not receive any support from the federal government.

McKellips echoed that fact and said, "We need training and supplies on the ground before the disaster strikes."

In preparation for more storms during the peak of hurricane season, the Red Cross is asking residents to make donations by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999, or by visiting www.centex.redcross.org for more information.