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 On the Gulf Coast, the American Red Cross is looking at a very large, lengthy relief operation that could stretch on into the coming months. Millions in Texas still have no electricity. There are almost no services in the Galveston area. Thousands who evacuated are beginning to be allowed into affected areas to see if their homes still exist, or if their home is still standing, to assess the damage. Visit http://www.hurricaneike.wordpress.com for an interactive map of American Red Cross shelters located throughout Texas and Louisiana. Google provided Red Cross with this great tool to make this information available to victims of Hurricane Ike.
The Red Cross focus is on providing shelter, food, and distribution of needed items. Thousands of Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground helping those affected by the storm. The Red Cross works in close coordination with FEMA and is clear about their expectations. The Red Cross also works well with state and local government and other voluntary organizations and focuses a culture of partnership in handling any disaster. The response to Gustav and Ike is evidence of that. The American Red Cross has responded to so many large disasters this year that the Disaster Relief Fund is depleted. The Red Cross estimates spending upwards to $70 million to help those affected by Hurricane Gustav, and the current estimates are that the Hurricane Ike relief effort could easily climb higher than that. THE RED CROSS NEEDS YOUR HELP! Please make a donation today! You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Hurricanes of 2008, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Call your local chapter of the American Red Cross to learn how you can help. You can also use your cell phone to donate $5 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by text messaging the keyword “GIVE” to “2HELP” (24357). You can send multiple donations depending on your carrier. Contributions will appear on monthly cell phone bills or be debited from a prepaid account balance. All applicable text rates apply. For more information on scheduled blood drives, please click here. The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood. (Images provided by the American Red Cross.)
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