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The Red Cross 'mission control' center is in Fairfax, and all hands are on deck for Dorian

The facility is responsible for directing supplies and resources to disaster teams on the ground, whether they need more beds, food, or help from federal officials.

FAIRFAX, Va. — Nearly 1,000 miles from where Dorian is expected to careen into the continental U.S., the nerve center for the American Red Cross is found inside a gleaming "mission control," a building tucked away within an unassuming Northern Virginia neighborhood.

It’s known as the Red Cross Disaster Operations Coordination Center -- where Dorian and its projected path are found on every screen.

The facility is responsible for directing supplies and resources to all disaster teams on the ground, whether personnel need more beds, food, or help from federal officials.

RELATED: Dorian strengthens to Category 4 with winds of 140 mph

"Once we get ramped up, it could be close to 100 people in here during the course of a day,"  Paul I. Carden, Jr., an American Red Cross director of emergency and international services, said.

"We are not running the missions, since they all operate independently. But when they need help, more resources, we answer the call," he said.

The center opened in 2017, initially tested by Hurricane Maria and the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 59 people.

RELATED: Montgomery County sends crews to Florida to aid those impacted by Hurricane Dorian

Staff, volunteers, tech experts and planners could work shifts extending past 12 hours as Dorian makes landfall. 

Carden will be one of the scores of employees working through Labor Day weekend. In an interview Friday, he described what success looks like from Fairfax, as personnel assist the growing Florida and Georgia relief efforts.

"It's the fact that we've moved kitchens into a state," Carden said. "And then we're getting reports every evening that thousands of meals have been delivered to those who need that hot meal. So that's success for us here."

RELATED: Preparing for Dorian: Former Maryland family braces for hurricane

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