MONTPELIER — American Red Cross volunteers from Vermont and New Hampshire are heading south to help with relief efforts from Superstorm Sandy.

A half dozen volunteers from the Vermont & the New Hampshire Upper Valley American Red Cross will be leaving today to help with the operations of shelters in other states.

An estimated 258 Red Cross shelters opened Tuesday night assisting nearly 11,000 people as the storm pummeled the East Coast with high winds, rains and a surge of seawater.

The volunteers will head to a staging area in White Plains, N.Y., where they will get their assignments.