Local volunteers are on stand-by and waiting for the official word to head west.
In 24 years with the Red Cross, Esther Bevers has experienced just about every disaster imaginable.
"My most recent one would be hurricane Katrina," Bevers said. "It's very, very difficult; you do see a lot."
So when dozens of tornados swept through five different states Tuesday, Bevers knew local Red Cross volunteers from the central North Carolina chapter may be needed and she was right.
"They're still assessing the need, they do have the request out," she said.
When volunteers get to Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky and Alabama, they will be helping hundreds, if not thousands of people whose homes were flattened by the fast moving twisters.
"It's such a wide spread disaster in so many communities," Bevers said. "If you are the person it's impacting, it's devastating to you."
But this is what the Red Cross does across the country. Volunteers are trained and ready.
"They know what they're going to do when they get there and they get on the ground and they start working," Bevers added.
They do not work for money. It is a different kind of compensation they believe is worth lot more.
"You'd be surprised at the hugs and the thank you's, you get from the individuals that you're assisting, how rewarding that is."
