MANISTEE -- There's a new place people can go when disaster hits.

"We're very pleased to announce an agreement between the Red Cross and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians establishing Little River Casino Resort as an Emergency Evacuation Shelter," said Tribal Director of Public Affairs Glenn Zaring.

The Tribal Council and the Red Cross have been working on this plan for years.

"He and I were talking about the possibilities of sheltering and those types of issues and the idea came up about how we didn't really have a good emergency shelter in this area," said Zaring.

In June of 2008, storms hit Manistee and Mason Counties leaving flooded streets, downed trees and damaged property, forcing people out of their homes.

Tribal Chief Larry Romanelli says the casino is the perfect answer.

"The Governor and the tribes of Michigan were meeting in this summit in 2008 when the storm hit," said Romanelli. "We went into emergency mode and he was very impressed by the way the tribe responded and by the way the resort responded to that situation."

The tribe and the Red Cross say Little River Casino and Hotel is the perfect place for an emergency evacuation shelter.

It has 300 rooms, large conference centers, its own tribal water system and spacious parking. But most importantly, Romanelli said, it has its own generator power. Before this shelter, the best generator-powered facility nearby only held 50 people.

"In the three counties that I serve we do not have many generated facilities and that's what was key with this place," said Red Cross Executive Director Wally Taranko. "Both its size and the self-powered water, sewer and a gas station that would work if the power went out in the area, which is critical."

The Red Cross will also be providing training to casino resort staff on mass-casualty management so they will be ready if disaster strikes.