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Red Cross Geared Up for Gustav and Hanna |
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by K Minnix
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Friday, 05 September 2008 |
The American Red Cross is ready for Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna. Gustav entered the Gulf of Mexico as a hurricane this weekend and the Red Cross was hard at work making preparations long before these storms even make landfall.
Staff from Red Cross chapters throughout the country are arriving in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to assist local volunteers in the preparations and imminent response to both Gustav and Hanna. Eleven people from New York’s Southern Tier Chapter of the Red Cross, both staff and volunteers, have been deployed in anticipation of mass evacuations from the storms.
As evacuation orders are given in each state, the Red Cross is ready with shelters, food and emotional support. Hundreds of mobile feeding trucks, thousands of cots and blankets, tens of thousands of comfort kits and ready-to-eat meals are being delivered in anticipation of a mass evacuation. Operational headquarters have been already set up in Dallas, TX, Baton Rouge, LA, Hattiesburg, MS and Montgomery, AL.
The Tompkins County Chapter stands ready to deploy to the hurricane impacted areas. If called upon, staff and volunteers will most likely serve in the mass sheltering of displaced residents. In the meantime, we are making preparations to open up our Chapter House on West Clinton Street to answer questions and give information to area residents who have friends and relatives in the affected areas.
The Red Cross says friends or relatives in the impacted areas should be encouraged to evacuate and register on the Red Cross Safe & Well web site. Doing so assures friends and relatives that they are safe and out of the storm’s path once they have evacuated. Advise them that if a hurricane watch is issued in their area, it means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours. If a hurricane warning is issued, it means hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours. They should listen to their local radio or TV stations for up-to-date storm information.
And if they must evacuate, they should take the following items with them when they leave: prescription medications and medical supplies; bedding and clothing, including sleeping bags and pillows; bottled water, battery-operated radio and extra batteries, first aid kit, flashlight; car keys and maps; and important documents, including driver’s license, passport, proof of residence, insurance policies, wills, deeds, birth and marriage certificates, tax records, etc.
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