Charleston-area charities, utilities to assist in storm zones

Local utilities and nonprofits have kicked into gear to assist those in the path of Hurricane Sandy.

Berkeley Electric Cooperative dispatched a repair crew to New Jersey on Sunday to help with recovery efforts. The Moncks Corner-based utility sent 16 lineworkers and about 50 contractors to the state, where Sandy made landfall Monday evening.

The crew will help Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative near Sussex, N.J., after the storm passes, according to Berkeley Electric spokesman Eddie McKnight.

SCE&G sent contract crews to Virginia to help a utility company there deal with Sandy’s effects. The 162 linemen and 23 tree personnel left on Sunday.

The Charleston-area Red Cross chapter sent seven people to areas likely to be affected by the far-reaching storm, including one to New Jersey, one to Harrisburg, Pa., two to Virginia and two to Beckley, W.Va., according to the Red Cross’s Christina Monserrate.

Meanwhile, Caribbean communities are coping with the aftermath of the hurricane.

A cholera-infested town in Haiti damaged by Sandy is getting Lowcountry help to purify water. Water Missions International has sent a team of seven technicians, three water systems and hygiene products to Baraderes, a port town of 15,000 people, according to a company news release.

Cholera is a water-born infection of the digestive system caused by poor sanitation. Water Missions International is a North Charleston-based, Christian nonprofit formed in 2001.