SERVICES PROVIDED BY RED CROSS DURING
DISASTERS
Local disasters
(Relief Phase)
- Shelter (General shelters or temporary lodging)
- Food
- Clothing and blankets
- Medical care
Red Cross Disaster Health Services staff deliver first aid and attend to
other health-related matters. Based on a person's needs, the Red Cross may
also help pay for certain medical needs, including prescription medicines,
medical supplies, and emergency medical treatment. The Red Cross
coordinates its disaster health services efforts with those of the local
health authorities and the medical and nursing communities. All activities
and services provided by Red Cross Disaster Health Services workers
reflect quality health care and current professional standards of health
care. All Red Cross disaster health services workers must have a current
license or certificate in their field of expertise.
- Mental health services
The American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services staff are
licensed mental health professionals trained to recognize the emotional
impact of a disaster on those affected�both victims and workers. They help
people recognize, understand, and cope with the specific feelings they
experience after a disaster. They work with the local mental health
community to ensure both short-term and long-term assistance is available.
- Individual and family assistance
Assistance may include providing the means for individuals and families to
pay for what they need most � from groceries, new clothes, and rent to
emergency home repairs, transportation, household items, medicines, and
tools. The Red Cross may also help those needing long-term recovery
assistance when other resources are not available or are inadequate. In
addition, the Red Cross lets people know about other available community
or government resources.
- Family reunification
- Resumption of normal daily activities
This may include a referral or a way to pay for what is needed most:
groceries, new clothes, rent, emergency home repairs, transportation,
household items, medicines, and occupational tools.
|
|
Large-scale disasters
Each year, the American
Red Cross responds immediately to more than 70,000 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, and health and mental health services to address basic human needs.
In addition to these services, the core of Red Cross disaster relief is
the assistance given to individuals and families affected by disaster to
enable them to resume their normal daily activities independently.
What can people expect from the American Red
Cross during times of disaster?
Red Cross disaster relief focuses on meeting the emergency disaster-caused
needs of individuals and families. When a disaster threatens or strikes,
we provide shelter, food, and health and mental health services, which
address basic human needs. In addition, we help individuals and families
to resume their normal daily activities independently. This may include a
referral or a way to pay for what is needed most: groceries, new clothes,
rent, emergency home repairs, transportation, household items, medicines,
and occupational tools.
The Red Cross may also help those needing
long-term recovery assistance when all other available resources,
including insurance, government, private, and community assistance, are
either unavailable or inadequate to meet the needs. All assistance is
based on verified disaster-caused needs and all assistance is
free�literally a gift as a result of the generous support of the American
people.
The Red Cross also feeds disaster victims
and emergency workers, handles inquiries from concerned immediate family
members outside the disaster-affected area, provides blood and blood
products to disaster victims, and links disaster victims to other
available resources.
What health services does the
American Red Cross provide during a disaster? Isn't this the government's
responsibility?
Primary responsibility for the general health of a community following a
disaster rests with the local public health authorities and local medical,
nursing, and health resources. Ill or injured persons normally look to
their own physicians or the usual community health facilities for the type
of care they need. The Red Cross supplements the existing community health
care system when disasters threaten or strike.
Red Cross Disaster Health Services staff
deliver first aid and attend to other health-related matters. Based on a
person's needs, the Red Cross may also help pay for certain medical needs,
including prescription medicines, medical supplies, and emergency medical
treatment.
The Red Cross coordinates its disaster
health services efforts with those of the local health authorities and the
medical and nursing communities. All activities and services provided by
Red Cross Disaster Health Services workers reflect quality health care and
current professional standards of health care. All Red Cross disaster
health services workers must have a current license or certificate in
their field of expertise.
Why does the Red Cross
provide disaster mental health services after disasters?
The American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services staff are licensed
mental health professionals trained to recognize the emotional impact of a
disaster on those affected�both victims and workers. They help people
recognize, understand, and cope with the specific feelings they experience
after a disaster. They work with the local mental health community to
ensure both short-term and long-term assistance is available.
How is American Red Cross
Disaster Services involved in international relief operations?
The response to international disasters is coordinated through the
American Red Cross International Services Department. Depending on the
size and scope of the disaster and the capabilities of the affected Red
Cross national society, it may request help through the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. In many cases, the
affected Red Cross society is seeking personnel with a special expertise,
such as a logistics or mass feeding background. Following Hurricane Mitch
in the fall of 1998, American Red Cross Disaster Services, in conjunction
with International Services, formed the International Response Team for
the Caribbean Basin and Central America to help the affected national
societies with planning and preparedness prior to a major disaster and
with rapid needs assessment following a disaster.
How quickly is the American
Red Cross able to respond to disasters?
The nearly 1,300 Red Cross chapters across the country are required to
respond with services to an incident within two hours of being notified.
These local chapters conduct disaster training as well as planning and
preparedness, to help them respond quickly and effectively when a disaster
occurs.
Human and material resources, such as
disaster specialists and disaster relief supplies, are located in
high-risk areas. This helps to ensure a quick response when a disaster
occurs. Immediately after a disaster incident is reported, we begin to
mobilize personnel and other resources to provide services such as
sheltering and feeding survivors. The local chapter with the help of other
chapters in the state quickly assesses the size and scope of the incident.
If help from beyond the state will be needed, a request goes immediately
to national headquarters so that supplies can be sent and people recruited
as soon as possible. |
