Each year, the American Red Cross responds immediately to more than 67,000 disasters, including
house or apartment fires (the majority of disaster responses), hurricanes, floods, earthquakes,
tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, transportation accidents, explosions, and other natural
and man-made disasters.
Red Cross disaster relief focuses on meeting people's immediate emergency disaster-caused needs.
When a disaster threatens or strikes, the Red Cross provides shelter, food, health and mental
health services to address basic human needs. The Red Cross also feeds emergency workers,
handles inquiries from concerned family members outside the disaster area, provides blood and
blood products to disaster victims, and helps those affected by disaster to access other
available resources.
Although the American Red Cross is not a government agency and receives no governmental funding
of its programs and services, its authority to provide disaster relief was formalized in 1905
when the Red Cross was chartered by Congress to provide a system of national and international
relief to disaster victims. All assistance provided to victims of disaster is free and is funded
by generous donations made by the American people.
Visit redcross.org
for more information about disaster preparedness and safety.
For more information on becoming a Disaster Action Team member for the West Shore Chapter of
the American Red Cross and responding to local disasters, please contact us at (231) 757-3069 or (888) 241-3433 or email to emergencyservices@charterinternet.com
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