Red Cross Volunteer From Maine Heads to Storm-Ravaged Guam

A Maine Red Cross volunteer is heading thousands of miles from home to help communities recovering from Super Typhoon Bavi.

According to WMTW, Paul Miller of Brewer is being deployed to Guam, where he will provide spiritual care to residents coping with the emotional stress and devastation left behind by the powerful storm.

Miller joined the American Red Cross in 2024 and also serves as a chaplain for the American Legion Post in Brewer and the Maine Veterans’ Home in Bangor.

The news station explained that this will not be his first disaster deployment. Miller has previously assisted with hurricane relief efforts in North Carolina, wildfires in Los Angeles and flooding in Kentucky.

He will be joined by another volunteer from northern New England. Pete Basiliere of Milford, New Hampshire, is also traveling to Guam and will help oversee feeding operations.

The two are joining Red Cross disaster response teams already working throughout the region.

Super Typhoon Bavi made landfall on the island of Rota on July 5 with sustained winds of 180 miles per hour. The eye of the storm passed directly over Rota, just north of Guam, making it the strongest storm ever recorded to strike the island, WMTW reported.

The typhoon caused widespread damage across Guam, Rota and Saipan.

Red Cross teams are currently assessing damage in communities on Guam and Saipan while working to reach some of the hardest-hit areas on Rota and Tinian.