Westport-based Save the Children said today it will assist rural communities it serves in the South in rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina.

Also, sponsored children in the region were safe, and Save the Children-sponsored schools took on minor damage from the storm, the charity said.

Save the Children provides literacy and physical fitness programs in a number of rural, poor communities throughout the United States.

Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast Monday with winds over 145 miles per hour destroying homes and businesses in its path and causing significant flooding, including in New Orleans.

A number of Westport area Red Cross volunteers may be heading south to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina within the next week.

Michelle DeLuca, emergency services director of the Westport-based Mid-Fairfield County Chapter, said she has received a number of inquiries from volunteers wishing to head south to help with relief efforts.

“We don’t have anyone there now, but we will be sending people down over the next few days,” she said.

Hurricane Katrina rocked the Gulf Coast Monday with winds up to 145 miles per hour destroying homes and causing significant flooding, including in New Orleans.