There's been talk by some people that the Gulf states "dodged the bullet" with Hurricane Gustav, but the facts show Gustav is already the third most expensive disaster, and it's involved nearly nine thousand Red Cross volunteers currently helping in the area. Almost 30 of those workers are from South Dakota.

Hurricane Ike may have the attention of those near the Gulf, but most are just trying to pick up the pieces left over by Gustav. More than 600 thousand people returned to their homes to find they were without power.

Nancy Hanneman of the Sioux Empire Red Cross, who's working in that area says while Gustav was less devastating than predicted, it still left thousands of people in need.

Nancy Hanneman says, "We're continuing to feed people. Yesterday alone we fed over 70 thousand meals."

In Louisiana alone they say over 2500 people are out of their homes living in 27 shelters across the state.

Joseph Becker, Vice-President of the American Red Cross says the situation has required them to send extensive help.

Joseph Becker says, "We've deployed, in addition to the people in our local chapters that are on the ground in Gustav, we've added about 7,000 total workers to the gulf workforce that we have."

While there may be enough volunteers, they're in desperate need of money. They say Gustav left an expensive bill totaling nearly $70 million. Plus, they say they're concerned by the lack of national attention Gustav received.

Nancy Hanneman says, "One of the biggest things is letting people know the need of the resources in the area."

And she's hoping once people recognize a need still exists, they'll be willing to help those affected.