Red Cross volunteers continue to respond down the street, across the country and around the world
CENTRAL FLORIDA, April 5, 2011 – American Red Cross volunteers in Hillsborough County have completed assessments of the damage caused by last Thursday’s tornados, however client casework and mass care services continue. At the same time, Disaster Action Teams have been busy responding to multiple fires throughout the state.
Today’s storms came as an ominous reminder of last week’s violent weather. Many structures that were damaged by the nine tornados may have been weakened further by the heavy rains and strong winds. The Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross in Tallahassee reports that high wind caused major damage to six homes today. Another home was damaged in the Jacksonville area.
While Red Cross volunteers continue to help families affected by the storms, others respond to provide emergency assistance to families who lost their homes to fires. Within the last 24 hours, Tampa Bay Chapter volunteers responded to four fires, one involving an apartment complex where 19 people including 11 children were forced from their homes.
Across the state of Florida – 325 homes were affected by the March 31 tornados; 14 were destroyed and 85 suffered major damage. But, it’s not just Florida that is suffering.
Across the country, the Red Cross responded today after severe spring storms affected hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and North Carolina. At the same time, Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground in North Dakota and Minnesota as the Red River continues to rise. In fact, since late March, the Red Cross has played a role in 14 disaster events in 13 states across the nation.
This latest disaster response comes on the heels of the Red Cross assisting people in Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and Texas where wildfires burned thousands of acres, destroyed homes and forced people to evacuate from their neighborhoods.
Posted by amrecro 
