Borderland student in Orlando bracing for Hurricane Matthew

As a Red Cross worker living in Las Cruces, Bonnie Hoover knew she might get the call asking her to head east.

Hurricane Matthew is swirling toward Florida with potentially catastrophic winds of 130 miles per hour.

“The last I heard there was a six foot storm surge and 25 foot waves. So basically that is over almost to the second floor and then plus wind,” Hoover said.

The call came and Hoover didn’t hesitate to jump into action. She is headed to Columbia, South Carolina.

She and other volunteers will be brining a truck the Red Cross uses to feed people.

The former mail carrier knows what she’s getting herself into. Hoover helped people in need during the recent Baton Rouge flooding.

“Whenever I go to take my Red Cross jacket things out of the closet, I tear up because of the people who have lost everything,” Hoover said.

As Hoover makes her way to a potential disaster zone, El Paso’s Cecilia Ajo is hunkering down in her Orlando area apartment.

“I definitely am a little shaken up, considering the worst weather in El Paso was the 2006 flood,” Cecilia Ajo said.

Ajo is in the city taking part in the Disney college internship program, but did not go to work today.

“I did not, i was too scared. It was raining pretty hard and my dad advised me to not go if i felt unsafe. I work at an outdoor restaurant and i did not think it would be a good idea for me to be outdoors during this time,” said Ajo.

It turned out to be a good call. Disney World shut down in advance of the storm.

“We went out we bought water. We tried to buy flashlight, but all the stores were sold out,” Ajo said.

Ajo’s family back home can do little but wait and hope for the best.

“It’s definitely heavy rain. We have been told not to stay on the streets past 6 pm today. So, it’s a super very eerie feeling,” said Ajo.