Volunteers from Westchester have left for Mississippi and Louisiana to help residents brace for Hurricane Gustav.

For one American Red Cross volunteer, Carolyn Sherwin, this storm brings back memories of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast.

"The first day you can only go so far, because trees were down, power lines," Sherwin says of Katrina's damage.

Sherwin remembers sleeping in cots, showering in tents and the spirit of New Orleans despite tragedy.

The impending storm, combined with anniversary footage of Katrina, has brought flashbacks of the destruction of the 2005 hurricane.

"I just don't wish it. You don't want to see it happening again," she says.

Sherwin believes volunteers are prepared with rigorous training to handle Gustav. The four area volunteers will ride out the storm, expected to hit Monday, and then assess the damage and see what they can do to help the city.

Sherwin, who stayed behind, wishes she could've gone, but knows she is needed to help here. But, if she's asked to head to the Gulf Coast, she says she'll go in a heartbeat.