Hawaii – A brush fire in Kona prompted the evacuation of some residents yesterday. The fire was later contained and residents went back to their homes.

The Hawaii State Chapter opened a shelter for the affected residents and provided dinner; the shelter was later closed and residents were allowed back to their homes.

California – An explosion at a military base near the California / Nevada border destroyed homes and prompted evacuations of residents in Mono County on Friday.

The Northern Nevada Chapter placed Disaster Action Team members on standby, communicated with military authorities and contacted Greater Los Angeles Chapter.

Colorado – Heavy snow and blizzard conditions caused disruptions in transportation and affected residents on Friday.

Chapters statewide communicated with local and state Emergency Management Agencies, activated Blizzard Shelter Plan and identified human and material resources in anticipation of response to storm.

See entire “Red Cross Opens Shelter after Two 3-alarm Fires in Yonkers” set by NY Red Cross on Flickr >>

Red Cross Continues to Assist Residents Displaced by Two Fires in Yonkers

Update Feb. 1, 2012: – The Red Cross continues to assist Yonkers residents displaced by two 3-alarm fires that occurred last Monday. Tuesday evening, trained Red Cross volunteers provided 24 people with a safe place to sleep, food, beverages and emotional support at the Red Cross shelter at the Police Athletic League in Yonkers, New York.

The shelter will remain open at least through Thursday afternoon for residents who are not yet able to return to their damaged homes or who have not yet secured longer-term housing from city agencies.

The Red Cross stands ready to provide further services and support as needed to all those affected In the coming days.

January 31, 2012 – Nearly 70 Yonkers, N.Y., residents found themselves homeless yesterday evening after a pair of 3-alarm fires destroyed a building on Lincoln Terrace and severely damaged one on Currans Lane.

These displaced residents received comfort and assistance from Red Cross relief workers at a reception center set up at the nearby Yonkers Police Athletic League (PAL) at 127 North Broadway.

Assistance came in the form of meals, beverages, health services and emotional support. The PAL reception center was later transformed into a Red Cross shelter where 35 of these residents, including many young children, spent the night.

Red Cross volunteers also provided a number of families with emergency funds for basic necessities such as replacement clothing, as well as referrals to other agencies that can help with their longer-term needs.

Today, representatives from several organizations, including the Department of Social Services, are at the shelter, working with residents to help with their future housing needs.

The shelter will remain open this evening.

Mexico – The country’s worst drought in more than 70 years is devastating water and food supplies throughout Mexico. Thousands of cattle have died and more than two million acres of crops have been destroyed, with northern states seeing record levels of drought.

The Mexican Red Cross has responded by providing food and relief supplies to vulnerable populations in high mountainous regions, including more than 10,000 native Tarahumara Indian families.

Donations mailed to local chapters may be designated to assist with drought relief efforts in Mexico until March 16, 2012. Visit the American Red Cross website to find the chapter nearest you.

South Carolina – A closed finishing textile plant fire resulted in a propane tank explosion in Aiken county yesterday.

The Aiken County chapter provided snacks and drinks to emergency workers from an Emergency Response Vehicle. Chapter will serve breakfast this morning if necessary.

The following information shows our total service delivery since the beginning of the response to tornadoes in Alabama on 1/23/12:

• Shelters opened: 3
• Shelter Overnight Stays: 85
• Bulk items (water, comfort kits, shovels, rakes, clean-up kits, trash bags, hand sanitizer, gloves, and stuffed animals for children): 1,666 
• Meals served: 5,712
• Snacks served: 10,864
• Emergency Response Vehicles on the ground: 8
• Health Services Consultations: 536
• Red Cross workers: 192

Alabama –

As people work their way through the destruction left by last week’s tornado, Red Cross continues to provide help on several fronts.

• A shelter remains open at First Baptist Church of Center Point – 1945 Center Point Parkway, Center Point
• Mobile feeding continues throughout affected communities
• Bulk distribution sites are actively giving out supplies free of charge to those affected by the recent tornadoes in the parking lots of:
  First Baptist Church of Center Point, 1945 Center Point Parkway, Center Point
  Mobile distributions are taking place in the affected areas and at times at the Clearview Baptist Church and Smithville Baptist Church
• Caseworkers, health and mental health professionals are conducting visits in the disaster-affected areas
• Information on Red Cross services or to schedule after-hour casework appointments call (205) 439-7880 and push Option 6

Volunteers from many organizations have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Red Cross volunteers to make sure that needs are being met which include Air Force officers from Maxwell Air Force Base, NAACP, Southern Baptist Convention and many more. Approximately 90% of the volunteers responding are from Alabama.

Florida – A tornado caused major damage to a home, minor damage to multiple others and brought down trees and power lines in Charlotte county on Friday 1/27/12.

The Southwest Florida Chapter provided lodging, food and clean up kits for one client. Three Emergency Response Vehicles, Damage Assessment and Disaster Action Teams are available and ready to respond if the need arises.

NAACP disaster liaison Steve Branch meets with Red Cross volunteer John Manners of Tennessee at the American Red Cross Alabama tornado Disaster Operations Center to map out a plan to help people in tornado ravaged areas outside Birmingham, AL.

It’s 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 26th , just days after tornadoes tore through neighborhoods and communities surrounding Birmingham, Alabama and there’s nothing else Steve Branch wants to be doing than helping the American Red Cross help those in need. Branch, unfortunately, has seen his share of disasters, most recently as the head of the NAACP’s disaster response following the Tuscaloosa tornado less than a year earlier. Branch is helping again this year as part of a partnership the NAACP has with the American Red Cross, a partnership Branch values a great deal.

“The NAACP and the Red Cross serve as a bridge,” Branch says. “They are a bridge to bring people together to help each other.”

Branch says within 24 hours dozens of NAACP members from around Alabama will descend on Birmingham. Then in conjunction with the Red Cross, they will handle administrative and field work, including fanning out to the hardest hit areas to meet face to face with residents. Branch says the volunteers will be organized by expertise and then assigned to help where the needs are greatest.

“First and foremost, we are here to help,” Branch says. “But we also want to enlighten and educate residents about the kind of assistance the Red Cross provides and how to get it.”

The partnership the American Red Cross has with the NAACP is just one of many partnerships the Red Cross worked out long ago and is being put to good use here in Alabama.

The American Red Cross’ longstanding partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention is once again helping serve hundreds of meals to people who don’t have power or the means to cook their own meals.

The American Red Cross buys the food, the Southern Baptists then cook it up in a makeshift kitchen outside one of three shelters set up here, and then Red Cross volunteers load up the food in Emergency Response Vehicles and literally hand delivers it to people at their homes or in their neighborhoods.

Just like the American Red Cross cannot do what it does without the generous support of donations from the public, it also cannot do what it does without the many partnerships it has formed over the years. The American Red Cross is continually forming new relationships, like the one it has with Steve Branch and the NAACP, so it can continue to respond to disasters quickly, effectively, and efficiently.

A driving downpour is not enough to stop the Red Cross from making its regular round of food deliveries to a tornado stricken neighborhood outside Birmingham, AL where power is out and cooking meals is impossible.

Alabama - The American Red Cross will provide additional services for people with significant damage from the recent tornadoes, starting Friday at Clearview Baptist Church, 5271 Old Springville Road, Pinson. During the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. they can meet one-on-one with caseworkers, health and mental health professionals. The Red Cross workers will offer local resources and referrals, help with prescriptions and other emergency medical needs, and assist those who need help registering for other relief programs. Anyone who cannot come during those hours is urged to call the Red Cross at (205) 439-7800 and push Option 6 to set up an appointment. They can also leave a message for a call-back.

Ongoing Red Cross disaster relief services include bulk distribution of supplies such as tarps, rakes, shovels, trash bags, gloves, comfort kits of toiletry items and clean-up kits. A distribution site for these items is also located at Clearview Baptist Church, where people should look for the Red Cross truck.

Two Red Cross shelters remain open:

· First Baptist Church of Center Point – 1945 Center Point Parkway, Center Point

· Clay Community Center – 6415 Clay-Palmerdale Road, Clay

Emergency Response Vehicles also are continuing to bring meals to the affected areas.

The following information shows our total service delivery since the beginning of the response to tornadoes in Alabama on 1/23/12:

• Shelters opened: 3
• Shelter Overnight Stays: 35
• Bulk items (water, comfort kits, shovels, rakes, clean-up kits, trash bags, hand sanitizer, gloves, and stuffed animals for children): 685 
• Meals served: 1,373
• Snacks served: 4,412
• Emergency Response Vehicles on the ground: 7
• Health Services Consultations: 7
• Red Cross Workers: 104

See entire “Alabama Tornadoes (Jan 2012)” set on Flickr >>