Local residents will have the opportunity to help the victims of this week’s superstorm today by eating lunch or dinner at Beef O’Brady’s.

Hurricane Sandy made landfall Monday as a post-tropical storm slightly south of Atlantic City, N.J., with the second-lowest pressure of any storm to make landfall north of Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Sandy left behind a massive trail of destruction across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with at least 17 states affected.

Initial estimates suggest the powerful storm, which brought with it wind, waves, rain and snow, has claimed at least 55 lives and has caused some $20 billion in damage, ranking the storm among the most expensive U.S. disasters.

More than 8.5 million people were without power Wednesday, and airlines have canceled more than 18,100 flights.

Dwayne Fisel, of Beef O’Brady’s, said that the restaurants located in Andalusia and DeFuniak Springs, Fla., will donate 10 percent of all sales made today, Nov. 1, to the American Red Cross to support victims of Hurricane Sandy.

“Star and I are participating in the Red Cross/Hurricane Sandy fundraiser in our stores in Andalusia and DeFuniak Springs in response to a call for action by our franchisor, Family Sports Concepts, who franchises the Beef O’Brady’s concept,” he said.

Fisel said he knows how important help is after storms.

“Living on the coast and going through several hurricanes myself, such as Ivan and Katrina,” he said. “I know how important it is to get those bare necessities such as water and food rations when the power is off for extended periods of time and critical services are unavailable.

“I went to Mississippi and helped reopen the Beef O’Brady’s in D’Iberville in 2005 and witnessed firsthand the destruction a hurricane can bring to a community,” he said. “The Red Cross does great work, and we are proud to join the rest of the Beef O’Brady’s franchise community in support of this noble cause.”