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Haiti Earthquake
updated on Jan. 14, 2010 at 4:12 p.m.
American Red Cross Response
With estimates that as many as 3 million people may be affected by the catastrophic earthquake which hit Haiti on Tuesday, the American Red Cross is releasing an additional $9 million for earthquake relief, bringing its total commitment thus far to $10 million in support of relief efforts in Haiti.
Priority needs in Haiti are food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. Thousands of local Red Cross volunteers are aiding their fellow Haitians. American Red Cross Disaster management specialists are scheduled to arrive today from the United States, Peru and Mexico to join local Red Cross staff already on the ground in the disaster zone. As soon as airports begin accepting relief shipments, tarps, hygiene items and cooking sets for approximately 5,000 families will come from the Red Cross warehouse in Panama.
The American Red Cross is also helping the injured who may need blood. Blood and blood products were shipped to the U.S. Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., and then on to Guantanamo Bay to help Haitian evacuees and patients.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has a plane full of mostly medical items on the way to Haiti from Geneva. ICRC staff, including engineers, a surgeon and family-linking specialists were expected to arrive in Port-au-Prince this morning. Other Red Cross partners have deployed a mobile hospital, medical teams, and 40 staff to help with sheltering, providing water, sanitation, and telecommunications.
How You Can Help
Donate
You can help the victims of countless crises, like the recent earthquake in Haiti, around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation by mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Donations to the International Response Fund can also be made by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at www.redcross.org.
Another way to assist with Haiti relief is by texting “Haiti” to 90999. A donation of $10 will automatically be sent to the Red Cross through an effort backed by the U.S. State Department. One hundred percent of the $10 donation will go towards earthquake assitance – your cell carrier keeps nothing.
We cannot accept donations of goods because the logistics of transporting and distributing “in-kind” donations can often be very expensive as well as time consuming, in particular organizing clearances to foreign countries and arranging transportation to remote areas. Our priority is responding to the assessed needs of the affected population, therefore, at this time the Red Cross is not actively looking for in-kind donations from individuals.
Volunteer
At this time, the American Red Cross is not accepting volunteers to travel to Haiti for relief efforts.
The International Red Cross Movement is made up of 186 national societies, including the American Red Cross and the Haitian Red Cross. As each national society has the capacity to draw upon its own body of volunteers, we rarely send volunteers overseas. Not only does this save time and money, but local volunteers have the advantage of speaking the language, knowing the region and understanding the culture.
That said, new volunteers are always welcome to join the American Red Cross and, as an American Red Cross volunteer, you may be able to deploy to other parts of the country and US territories as part of our disaster response.
In the past year, Orange County volunteers have helped with ice storms in the Mid West, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast and tsunami recovery in American Samoa. If this is something that would interest you, please visit our Volunteer page for more information.
Searching for Loved Ones
For inquiries about relatives living and who have citizenship in Haiti,please be patient and call repeatedly until the lines clear or contact other family members who live nearby. Telephone, Internet and other communication lines are often disrupted in times of disaster.
People trying to locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Haiti should contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (888) 407-4747 or (202) 647-5225.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has also established a family-linking web site at www.icrc.org/familylinks that enables persons in Haiti and abroad to search for and register the names of relatives missing since the earthquake.
601 N. Golden Circle Drive, Santa Ana, CA, 92705
Phone: (714) 481-5300 Website: www.oc-redcross.org
