As Tropical Storm Gustav continues to strengthen, residents of the Gulf Coast brace themselves for the potentially deadly impact. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is preparing its staff and equipment to respond.

“Our entire animal rescue team has been put on standby to deploy at a moment’s notice if our assistance is needed,” said Scotlund Haisley, senior director of Emergency Services at The HSUS on Friday. “The Humane Society of the United States has deployed a core team of responders today to begin transporting our specially equipped disaster response vehicles and rescue boat to the Gulf Coast.”

The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA) in New Orleans and a number of other humane organizations in the Gulf Coast region made the decision to evacuate their animals early. Others are expected to follow suit as Gustav approaches. The HSUS has sent animal transport vehicles from both D.C. and Florida to be available for evacuation assistance on Saturday.

“Many of our colleagues have reached out to assist us with our advance evacuation process and we’re very grateful to The HSUS for providing additional transport vehicles and personnel who are in route to New Orleans,” said Ana Zorrilla, chief executive officer of the LA/SPCA. “These resources are critically needed given the number of animals that we anticipate evacuating in the next three days