American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom

Red Cross Assisting Those Affected by Severe Weather

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., November 17, 2011 – Volunteers with the American Red Cross Alabama Region are assessing the damage to homes throughout the state. So far they have found that over 230 homes throughout Alabama were affected in some way by the severe weather.

A Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle is on the ground in Macon County. Volunteers are using it to distribute comfort kits, clean up kits, and snacks to families whose homes were affected by the weather. A shelter was on standby but was not opened, although a few people were provided shelter at a local hotel last night. The Red Cross is working in conjunction with the Salvation Army to provide feeding.

Here are the initial damage assessment numbers for the affected areas:

• Homes Destroyed 16
• Homes with Major Damage 95
• Homes with Minor Damage 86
• Affected Homes 34

In the coming days we will be meeting with the families affected and will assist them with their immediate emergency needs based on the extent of the damage to their homes. Affected families should call their local Red Cross office for more information about Red Cross assistance.

Red Cross emergency assistance can include food, clothing, shelter, emotional support, and referrals; the level of assistance given is determined by caseworkers who meet with each family to assess their immediate emergency needs and provides assistance according to the extent of the damage to their home.

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About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

Shelter Locations Changing as Needs Evolve
New Locations Opening in Communities Where Schools Try to Reopen for Classes, Polling

FARMINGTON, CONN., November 7, 2011 – Power is coming on in more communities, but many thousands of people remain without light or heat and face the prospect of another night in a shelter as communities deal with the aftermath of a crippling fall snowstorm.

The Red Cross and several affected communities are responding to shelter needs and to the necessity of getting schools back online for classes to resume and to serve as polling places in the Tuesday elections.

Shelters are expected to remain open in Avon, Bloomfield, Canton, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartford, Harwinton, Meriden, Simsbury, Southington, Suffield and West Hartford. In some communities, the Red Cross is stepping in to provide new or additional support, said Red Cross spokesperson Paul Shipman.

In some cases, shelter locations in these towns have changed to accommodate school and polling place schedules. Many shelters are accepting residents from nearby towns where shelters with low populations have closed. The best thing to do if you need shelter tonight, Shipman said, is to call 211 or visit www.211ct.org.

“Red Cross volunteers have been working in many shelters, but with the need so great in the last week, many communities have stepped up to provide for needs in their towns. Many workers in these communities are Red Cross trained for disaster response. We are glad that advance training has helped to ready people for operating shelters.”

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This story is written by Red Cross worker A Smith.

She lives the Red Cross philosophy every day. On September 08 as Hurricane Irene continued her angry trip up the east coast it was clear to all that Pennsylvania would not escape her wrath. As the waters of the proud yet gentle Susquehana River began to rise, Marita received a call to open a shelter at Tunkhannock High School. As the waters continued to rise and more and more people were forced to evacuate their homes it became clear more shelters were needed and Marita received the call to open a second shelter at Falls Senior Citizens Center a few miles away. Making every moment count she had the shelter up and running in a matter of hours. As the mighty Susquehana overflowed her banks and reached higher and higher (43 feet above normal) destroying everything in her path, Marita received the call, a third shelter was needed. Not one to rattle easily, and with her customary “can do” attitude she was receiving evacuees a few short hours later at the Emanna Country ‘Club.

As clients began to arrive she realized more food was needed and she remembered a ham in the refrigerator at home she had purchased the day before. It was on the way home that she came face to face with the stark reality that her own home was in danger. The waters had risen so rapidly the roads were flooded and she could not get home. She knew immediately that all was lost so she calmly returned to the shelter to help her neighbors cope with their loss.

As the waters receded and Marita was able to return to her home of 30 years it was apparent she would never live there again. Everything in the house was lost and the violent storm had left a foot of muddy silt everywhere. Facing this loss as she has everything in life she applied and was accepted to Lake Winola Senior Housing…when something becomes available. Til then she will continue to stay at the home of a friend.

“I can handle the big things that life throws at me. It’s the little things that upset me.” This dynamic woman of 83 years of age is a 20 year volunteer with the American Red Cross and has responded to 22 national disasters.

When Judy Nicholson, a Red Cross Disaster Mental Health worker from Maryland, was asked to come to New Jersey to assist victims of the flooding that has devastated the area following Hurricane Irene, she did so without hesitation.

Nicholson, working out of New Jersey, was one of the first Red Cross workers to respond following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Initially serving at the Port Authority Family Assistance Center at Newark Airport, lending aid to the flight crews of the two airlines, she later served at the Family Assistance Center at Liberty State Park. That location served as a site for distribution of material, for collecting DNA samples, and was also a launching point to take families, in groups, over to Ground Zero. “It was a multi-agency site,” she said, recalling the experience. “New Jersey, the state, did a fine job of arranging all that, it was seamless. It was an experience like none other.”

When the Red Cross asked her to return again to New Jersey Nicholson responded “ Yea! I had really enjoyed working in New Jersey, though years ago, and I felt like I was going home in a way.” Knowing that she would be in New Jersey, around the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, she also was aware that this trip had nothing to do with that tragic time. Then, on a scheduled day off, she received a call, asking, “Do you want to help with the canteen that goes down to Liberty State Park?” Fighting back tears she said “it was my site… and I jumped at the chance.” The return trip a decade later had a strangely comforting familiarity. “Gosh, driving down those cobblestones…seeing the Statue of Liberty on my right, she recounts, “it was absolutely the only place I would have wanted to be. You wouldn’t believe it but I actually saw three people that I worked with ten years ago. It was a reunion but it wasn’t about that, it was about serving one more time.”

That moment, a special moment in time, was, as Nicholson describes, “just a pause moment. Now I’m here, in the northern New Jersey area of the flood relief, back to helping people who have had flooding and are displaced, and assisting people in shelters who are just trying to get back to their normal life.”

Story by Janice Osborne

HAZLETON, PA (September 17, 2011) – Thanks to a partnership with The Clorox Company, 12,000 gallons of bleach are being distributed across Pennsylvania to those who are beginning the long recovery process following flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee.

“While Red Cross volunteers bring food and supplies to flooded neighborhoods, bleach has been one of the first things the residents ask for,” said Steve Cassel mass care chief for the relief operation. “It is one of the most vital tools for disinfecting walls, floors and household items as people return home to start rebuilding their lives.”

Two Clorox trucks – one from Atlanta, the other from Chicago – delivered the much-needed cleaning liquid to the Red Cross Distribution Warehouse in Hazleton. Pallets of boxed product, each 4 feet wide by 6 feet high, were stacked in 52-foot rows in preparation for distribution throughout the impacted communities.

This weekend local volunteers, including 50 students from Penn State University Hazleton Campus and 100 local Boy Scouts, stepped in to help the Red Cross disaster workers unpack the boxes and assemble “clean-up buckets” filled with a bottle of Clorox, work gloves, trash bags and insect repellent. These are being distributed along with the standard Red Cross clean-up kits that contain a mop, broom, disinfectant and other cleaning supplies. To date, more than 7,625 Red Cross clean-up kits have been distributed.

“For generations, Clorox has been a proud supporter of the American Red Cross, donating products and financial support when we need it most,” said Michael Windle, senior associate of In-Kind Donations at Red Cross national headquarters. “This donation, in particular, is a cost savings to us as we help residents clean up their homes.”

This story is written by Marva Thomas, Red Cross worker.

Mike Blair, Clarendon resident, was fortunate that his home escaped damage from the widespread flooding that followed in the wake of Hurricane Irene. As he watched news coverage of the destruction, he decided to take action. “I felt awful for the state of Vermont and for my neighbors. I wanted to help out.”

Working near the Red Cross chapter office in Rutland, he had driven past and seen a lot of activity as Red Cross workers and vehicles mobilized to open shelters, deliver meals and distribute clean up materials and other needed supplies. He was on his way to the Vermont State Fair in Rutland but instead made a right turn into the chapter office parking lot. “I was on vacation and had some free time, so I stopped by Red Cross because I know it is a fantastic organization.”

That day Mike was signed in, and the next day he joined a team of Red Cross workers traveling roads he had not known even existed to access the areas of flooding and offer assistance to weary residents in the process of clean up. The destruction to roads and property was sobering, but as Mike recalls, “The people were positive and upbeat. They welcomed us, happy to see the Red Cross and work with them.”

On Thursday, Mike is still in the Red Cross chapter office, now working with people who need temporary housing by connecting them with community resources. Mike’s biggest surprise as a volunteer, “I didn’t realize that you actually go out to see disaster victims. That was very eye opening.”

Responding to about 70,000 disasters a year nationwide, Red Cross maintains on-call vehicles, supplies and over 60,000 trained workers ready to be deployed for regional as well as local disasters. It’s not unusual for Red Cross to respond to simultaneous events as we are now, assisting people affected by Tropical Storm Irene as well as those whose homes have been destroyed by the fire in Texas. It is through caring and willing volunteers like Mike that the American Red Cross is able to deliver emergency disaster relief assistance to our friends and neighbors in their times of need.

Becky Field, Director of Communications, American Red Cross-New Hampshire

Margaret and Elizabeth Smith, a mother and her adult daughter, ate pizza next to their cots at the Red Cross shelter in Bow while Tropical Storm Irene railed outside. Their two mobile homes in Boscawen had lost power on Sunday morning, and they had no idea how long the electricity would be off.

This posed a very serious problem for Margaret because she depends on a powered medical device for dispensing medications. Soon after the power went off, she started to develop headaches. Because of mobility issues, it’s hard for Margaret to easily move to another location.

“Not having electricity is a major thing for me,” said Margaret.

The daughter called Unitil to see what they could do to restore power. The company representative said they would do their best. Within minutes the representative called back to say that they had made arrangements to take the mother and daughter to a shelter. The Penacook Rescue Squad arrived and brought them to the Red Cross shelter at the Bow High School.

“It was a wonderful feeling when I saw that it was a Red Cross shelter,” said Elizabeth. “The Red Cross does so much to help people after disasters, like fires.”

She should know. Twenty-three years ago, a fire destroyed her mother’s home along with just about everything in it. The Red Cross gave them financial assistance for their recovery. Elizabeth has done her part to give back. For years, she gave blood through the Red Cross at her workplace. She was proud to say that she earned her “gallon” pin.

“Being at the shelter today helped more than just my mother,” said Elizabeth, who has nine brothers and sisters. “The whole family was relieved to know that our mother had a safe place to be.”

As our conversation ended, the shelter nurse came in to say that the Boscawen Town Emergency Manager had called the shelter to see how Margaret was doing, and to tell them that power was back on at their homes; Penacook Rescue Squad would be arriving in 20 minutes. Clearly pleased, the mother and daughter finished their supper and packed up to head home.

“Everyone today has been so kind and helpful,” said Margaret. “But I will sleep better in my own bed.”

“It is wonderful what the Red Cross does,” said Elizabeth. “Too bad we had made up these nice beds,” she said glancing to the cots, “but it’s better to be prepared than not.”

Even though they didn’t need to spend the night they had planned at the shelter, these two did spend a restful, relaxing Sunday at the shelter with friendly people during a nasty storm. The alternative would have been a lot worse.