Sydney call centre readies for calls from Floridians in Irma's path

As people in Florida are preparing to be hit by Hurricane Irma, staff at a Sydney call centre are getting readyto take their calls for help.

The ServiCom call centre has spent the past 1 weeksfielding calls from victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

"We've fielded probably close to 40,000 calls so far with Hurricane Harvey," said Todd Riley, the centre's director.

"And now coming into Hurricane Irma that's approaching the Florida state, we anticipate that it could be just as much, if not worse."

Working on behalf of Red Cross

ServiCom has a contract with OnStar, General Motors' subscription-based vehicle communications service, which has partnered with the Red Cross to help with disaster response.

Riley said ServiCom's OnStar staff in Sydney have been fielding hurricane-related calls on behalf of the Red Cross.

"Anything from simple requests for phone numbers'How can I donate?' to people that were in an emergency situation where they were on top of the rooftop or needed assistance because of the flooding and just could not get out of their neighbourhood," he said.

Helping callers'feel secure'

The Sydney centre has now switched its focus from Texas to Floridaand plans to add an additional 50 to 75 agents to deal with the expected increase in call volume.

Agent Allan MacDougall started receiving calls from people in Florida on Friday morning.

"Right now most people are calling wanting to know if there are shelters, where they can go in case of the storm. So it's more so giving them information, making them feel secure," said MacDougall.

He said he expects the nature of the calls to change over the coming days. Some hurricane victims have so far been emotional, he said, but most have been "amazing."

"People are going tocall and their homes have been destroyed. They're going tobe looking for food and clothing and shelters [and] financial assistance," said MacDougall.

"They always say, 'Thank you.' They always say, 'God bless.'"

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