(Richmond, Va.) — Governor Terry McAuliffe is sending seven National Guard helicopters and about 40 soldiers to support rescue operations and is encouraging residents to make charitable donations to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Water rescue crews from Fairfax and Virginia Beach are already in Houston and the Virginia Department of Forestry has deployed a 20-person incident management team to assist the recovery effort.

Locally, a convoy of Davenport Energy fuel trucks left Chatham Tuesday afternoon en route to deliver fuel for emergency relief efforts in Texas. God’s Pit Crew left Danville Friday to deliver truckloads of bottled water, Gatorade and toiletries to the hardest hit area. More help is needed, and The Ringgold Fire Department will be helping collect bottles of water this weekend at the station on Tom Fork Road. Fire Chief Mike Neal says be collecting water Saturday, Sunday and Labor Day.

Major dangers loom for the U.S. Gulf Coast area with the threat of major flooding near the Texas-Louisiana line and an explosion at a Texas chemical plant as Harvey’s floodwaters begin to recede in the Houston area. The confirmed death toll climbed to at least 31 on Wednesday. A spokeswoman says an Arkema Inc. plant in Crosby, Texas, is poised to explode after the flooded facility lost power.