In just the first week of the Haiti response effort, the American Red Cross already has spent or committed $34 million (approximately 25 percent of what has been pledged or received) as of Thursday, January 21.
• The infrastructure of Haiti is severely damaged--airports are clogged, roads are treacherous, and there is no large seaport available. This is causing bottlenecks and making it very difficult to get aid into the hands of survivors. Despite those problems, aid is starting to slowly make its way to those who need help.
• In just the first week of the short term relief operation we’ve committed and spent funds in three basic areas: food and water, relief supplies and logistical and support services.
• 50 percent of what has been committed or spent is being used to bring food and water to earthquake survivors. The American Red Cross is providing more than 3 million pre-packaged meals, more than 1 million water purification packets and thousands of jerry cans so people can collect and transport clean drinking water.
• 30 percent of what has been committed or spent so far is purchasing and distributing relief supplies. This includes items such as blanket, tarps, soap, hygiene supplies, kitchen sets and first aid supplies.
• 20 percent of what has been committed or spent is providing the logistical support and other items needed to keep the relief effort running. This includes the purchase of vehicles to deliver relief supplies, warehouse space, gasoline, transportation costs and the deployment of our relief specialists. This category also includes the costs associated with the training and deployment of nearly 70 Creole speaking volunteers to the
USNS Comfort.
• So far, more than 100 tons of Red Cross aid has arrived in Haiti. Planes and trucks carrying Red Cross humanitarian assistance are arriving in the region every day.
• Yesterday (Wednesday), the American Red Cross and our partners on the ground were able to provide 2,700 people with basic supplies like tarps, hygiene kits, water purification tablets and blankets.
• As the pipeline to get to the people in Haiti widens, the American Red Cross will provide large tents for an initial 14,500 people and is working around the clock to find and send more.
• The American Red Cross is also sending approximately 3 million pre-packaged meals to Haiti, and will partner with the World Food Program to distribute them to survivors over the weekend.
• Today (Thursday), nearly 70 American Red Cross Creole-speaking volunteers have left Miami to join the USNS Comfort offshore in Haiti tomorrow. Once aboard, they will serve as interpreters for patients receiving medical care from the U.S. military.
• The American Red Cross is also coordinating shipments of blood and blood products to Haiti at the request of the Pan American Health Organization.
The American Red Cross is in Haiti as a part of the broader and coordinated Red Cross and Red Crescent network.
• Red Cross responders from seven countries are treating injuries and performing surgery at hospitals and medical centers throughout the capital city.
• Red Cross teams from Latin America and Asia, trained in urban search and rescue, are supporting local authorities.
• Others are focused on purifying the water supply available in the country and expect to deliver clean drinking water to 200,000 people (17 settlements) each day by truck.
• Local Haitian Red Cross volunteers are providing emotional support for traumatized survivors and providing first aid support.
• The ICRC family links Web site (
www.icrc.org/familylinks), designed to help reconnect separated families, has received 23,900 registrations since the earthquake. Yesterday (Wednesday), the Red Cross helped more than 340 people in Haiti make international phone calls to their families to say they are safe and well as well as register an additional 178 on the site.
This is an enormous relief operation now, but we also know it will be a massive long-term recovery effort and the Red Cross will be there throughout.• It is important to note that because Port-au-Prince is so central to the economy and governance of Haiti that this disaster not only affected people living in the earthquake zone (an estimated 3 million), but the entire population of Haiti (an estimated 9 million).
• This is already the largest single-country personnel deployment in global Red Cross history. The number of emergency response teams in or en route to Haiti equals those that responded to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami – an emergency that spanned 14 countries.
• Since the earthquake struck on January 12, the American Red Cross has raised approximately $137 million (as of 5 p.m., Wednesday). More than 60 percent of donations have come in through online donations, and $25 million has been pledged through mobile giving.
• People can donate in support of the relief effort in Haiti at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS. Mobile donors can text “Haiti” to 90999 to make a $10 contribution.
• A $10 donation made through mobile giving can provide a family with two water cans to store clean drinking water, a blanket appropriate to the climate or other supplies to give people the ability to cook for their families.
Red Cross of Southwest Washington will be staffed and taking donations from 9am to 5pm at 1265 14th Ave, Longview until Friday, January 29, 2010. This has been extended a week to meet the needs of the community. We are also handing out donation canisters if anyone would like to place one or more in their workplace. If you would like to have a Red Cross/Haiti Fundraising event please let us know so that we can help you organize and have a representative present. Please contact Julia Bishop at (360) 270-9227 or Melissa Mullins at (360) 324-2318 for more information.
The Cowlitz County Dive Rescue Team is your only local dive rescue and recovery team. They are a dedicated group of volunteers that work in partnership with the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office, the Department of Emergency Management, and other law enforcement and public safety agencies to respond to water-related incidents in Cowlitz County and surrounding areas. They respond to in-water distress calls and help provide a first line of defense against accidental drowning. They provide this service for free. It's not their job, but they do it because they care.
