Hurricane Irene Update

An American Red Cross shelter at Nassau Community College in Long Island, New York

on August 27, 2011

Thousands of people from North Carolina to New England have turned to the American Red Cross for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, as flooding, widespread power outages, and wind damage have devastated communities. Since the night before the storm, the Red Cross has operated or supported nearly 500 shelters and provided more than 52,000 overnight stays.

A Red Cross volunteer comforts a Lost Valley, Maryland resident who has survived five floods, with Hurricane Irene being one of the worst, on August 30, 2011.

More than a thousand trained disaster workers, including 76 from Georgia, are engaged in relief operations in a dozen coastal states. Every Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) east of the Rocky Mountains – more than 260 vehicles – has been mobilized to support recovery efforts. Georgia’s entire fleet of ERVs has been deployed, and the Atlanta-based Emergency Communications Response Vehicle, capable of powering essential equipment for a relief operation under disaster conditions, is being utilized in North Carolina.

Ten kitchens, capable of serving about 140,000 hot meals each day, are operating or being set up in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and New York. Arrangements have also been made to have approximately 1.3 million meals available in North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and New York through Red Cross partners, and thousands of relief items such as clean-up kits, rakes, ice chests, and tarps have been shipped affected areas.

While many states are still assessing the damage, the Red Cross expects to be helping people in hard-hit areas for the next several weeks.

You can help provide Red Cross relief for the families impacted by Hurricane Irene by making a donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief today. Your gift enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling, and other emergency assistance. The Red Cross is not a government agency, yet we are guided by a Congressional Charter to respond without hesitation to disasters across the country and around the world. To carry our mission, the Red Cross relies on public generosity.

Each year, the Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000 disasters nationwide each year and spends on average $450 million on disaster readiness and relief. The costs of our comprehensive response to Hurricane Irene have not been fully realized but are anticipated to be in the tens of millions.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Call To Donate: the local chapter at 706-353-1645 and talk to Jeff Taylor, Executive Director
Text A Donation: Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 by phone
Mail A Check: Mail a check to
                          American Red Cross East Georgia Chapter
                          490 Pulaski Street
                          Athens, GA 30601
Donate Online: American Red Cross East Georgia Chapter Website