The American Red Cross has spent or committed nearly $78 million to meet the most urgent needs of earthquake survivors.
To meet urgent needs, 71 percent of the funds spent or committed by the American Red Cross have been for food and water; 20 percent have been for shelter; and the rest are for health and family services.
Because of the generosity of donors, people in Haiti will receive more than immediate relief — they will receive resources, support and training from the Red Cross that will help them recover and rebuild in the years ahead.
The humanitarian aid pipeline is opening wider and logistical problems are getting smaller, but the needs in Haiti are still immense. Red Cross teams are on the ground assessing ways to not only meet the immediate needs but also provide long-term recovery assistance, such as restarting the local market economy and addressing housing needs.
4 Red Cross warehouses (2 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and 2 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) are open and operating at full capacity.
The Red Cross is now producing 1 million liters of water per day, enough for 185,000 people to receive 5.4 liters per person per day. In addition, Red Cross teams are working to scale up latrine construction.
To date, Red Cross distributions of food and relief items have reached nearly 20,000 families (or 100,000 people).
To date, more than 64 flights carrying Red Cross aid from around the world have arrived in Santo Domingo and Haiti.
Below are three videos. First, a walk through our warehouse of supplies in Haiti. Second, one of our volunteers explains how he’s going to distribute the supplies. Third, a look at how supplies are actually distributed to survivors.
Winter Storm
Thousands of residents throughout several states and the District of Columbia continue to be affected by power outages as a result of the winter storm that occurred over the weekend. In addition, a major Nor’easter storm is forecast for today. Several Winter Storm Warnings and Advisories are in effect.
North Carolina; West Virginia; Virginia; Maryland; Washington DC; Pennsylvania; Delaware; New Jersey
Chapters within the affected areas kept dozens of shelters open and provided Mass Care for local residents, as well as stranded travelers, and continued to collaborate with government agencies and community organizations to provide support as needed.
American Red Cross and Other U.S. Blood Centers Send Blood to Haiti
WASHINGTON, Wednesday, February 03, 2010 — As medical teams in Haiti continue to evaluate and treat the victims of the devastating earthquake, the American Red Cross is coordinating shipments of blood and blood products to Haiti at the request of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Today, the American Red Cross is coordinating the shipment of 350 units of blood to Haiti – 175 units of blood from the Red Cross and the other 175 units from America’s Blood Centers (ABC), Blood Centers of America (BCA) and the AABB’s National Blood Exchange (NBE).
With today’s shipment, about 1,100 units of blood have been sent to Haiti to help treat earthquake victims — nearly 750 units from the Red Cross and 350 units by ABC, BCA and the NBE.
PAHO officials are working with the National Blood Transfusion Program at the Ministry of Health in Haiti to distribute blood to local hospitals according to the needs of the earthquake victims.
Future shipments will be coordinated with PAHO by the American Red Cross and will be filled through a cooperative effort with other blood collectors in the United States. The Armed Services Blood Program continues to coordinate the supply of blood products for US military medical facilities participating in the relief efforts, such as the USNS Comfort.
Update 2/4/10: Currently an estimated 46,470 customers remain without power; full restoration is expected February 5, 2010. The storm is blamed for 7 deaths.
Oklahoma – Power outages continued to affect local residents due to last weekend’s winter storms. Currently it is reported that over 70, 000 customers are without power.
The Chapters kept 11 shelters open, provided feeding, supported other organizations providing Mass Care (MC), and staffed or contacted Emergency Operation Centers (EOC’s).
Posted by amrecro 
