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Disaster
Response Summary
Tsunami Disaster Summary Report
October 5, 2009 – 4:30 P.M. (EDT)
If your
constituents need to reach the Red Cross for assistance,
please have them call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
OPERATIONS
The American Red Cross is on the ground
in American Samoa continuing to support those affected by
the tsunami, providing food, water and needed supplies, with
more supplies en route. The American Red Cross has a
warehouse on the island with stocks of cots, flashlights,
cooking supplies and clean-up supplies, and will be sending
in additional materials to support recovery efforts. Thus
far, the Red Cross has served over 4,000 meals and is
distributing comfort kits including items such as
toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, combs, razors
and more.
There are currently 125 residents from
the American Samoa who are volunteering with the American
Red Cross and more than 70 volunteers who have traveled from
all over the United States mainland and Hawaii to provide
relief. The larger groups of volunteers are 12
deployed from Hawaii, 11 from Utah, and 21 AmeriCorps
volunteers from Sacramento and Denver. These teams of
volunteers are busy feeding, distributing comfort items,
registering individuals in the Safe & Well website and
learning to build temporary housing. An additional twelve
mental health and health services staff are leaving today
(October, 5, 2009).
The Red Cross is working closely with local and federal
emergency management to determine the needs of those
affected by the tsunami and will continue to assess the
needs in the coming days. For the most up to date
information, we encourage those affected to call
1-800-RED-CROSS.
DISASTER WELFARE INQUIRIES
The Red Cross encourages local residents to use the Safe
and Well service to stay in touch with family and friends.
Individuals outside the disaster area who are trying to
locate individuals in the affected areas can go to the
American Red Cross Safe and Well website. The site can be
accessed by visiting
www.redcross.org or
www.safeandwell.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
CONTACTS
For questions, please contact a member of the Red Cross
State Government Affairs team:
Jacqueline C. Buck – 334 260-3981
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims
of disasters; provides nearly half of the nation's blood
supply; teaches lifesaving skills; 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 humanitarian mission. For more information,
please visit
www.redcross.org or join our blog at
www.redcrosschat.org. |
