2006  Morongo Basin Area Red Cross      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
NEWS
The  American Red Cross is comprised of
hundreds of local Red Cross chapters and
blood   services   regions  that  provide  a
variety   of   programs   and   services  in
cities,  towns  and  neighborhoods across
the  country  and  around  the  world.   To
find out more, visit our National Website.
www.redcross.org
Counter
To access the American Red
Cross Pacific Service Area's
West Wildfires BLOG, CLICK
HERE.
The American Red Cross
Red Cross Responds as Severe Storms Rip Central United States
By Carrie Housman

Monday, May 12, 2008 — Families across Missouri, Oklahoma, and Georgia
spent Mother's Day searching through their damaged homes and beginning
the long road to recovery after a series of severe storms and tornadoes
ripped across the central U.S. on Saturday. Media reports indicated that
twenty-three people were killed by the storms, and at least 150 more were
injured.

The American Red Cross has dispatched several teams of disaster
assessment volunteers to the hardest hit areas to determine how many
people need help and how much help they will need. In Oklahoma, shelters
are open in the hardest hit areas and mobile feeding trucks have been
circulating through the neighborhoods with food for survivors and emergency
workers. Three Red Cross shelters were opened in Missouri on Saturday
night and three emergency response vehicles are there as well. In Georgia,
the damage and the Red Cross services are scattered through out the
southern portions of the state, as Red Cross workers concentrated on
meeting the basic needs of people affected.

In addition, the Red Cross is working with local public health authorities to
ensure enough nurses are available to tend to those who lost prescription
medications or may need basic first aid care. Mental health workers are also
being dispatched to help support the victims of these devastating storms.

Because local telephone lines are down, the Red Cross is encouraging
local residents to use the Safe and Well service to stay in touch with family
and friends. The Safe and Well Website provides disaster victims with a
confidential way to let their loved ones know of their general location and
status. It can be accessed at www.RedCross.org.