The American Red Cross...

Always there....

 Haiti Earthquake

February 5, 2010

On Tuesday, January 12, less than one hour before sunset, a 7.3 earthquake struck Haiti near the capital of Port au Prince, causing catastrophic damage and loss of life. 

Red Cross relief supplies continue to arrive, and more food, water and relief supplies are reaching survivors in the capital city and outlying areas, although the needs remain great.

• The humanitarian aid pipeline is opening wider but logistical problems continue and the needs in Haiti are immense. Red Cross teams are assessing ways to meet
  immediate needs and also how to provide long-term recovery assistance, such as continued provision of household supplies and addressing emergency shelter.
• Four Red Cross warehouses (two in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and two in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) are open and operating at full capacity.
• The Red Cross is producing 1 million liters of water per day, enough for 200,000 people. Overall, 13 million liters of water have been distributed.
• Red Cross distributions of food and relief items (blankets, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, buckets, water containers, laundry soap/detergent, and mosquito nets) have reached more than 24,000 families (or 120,000 people).
• To date, 70 flights carrying Red Cross aid from around the world have arrived in Santo Domingo and Haiti.
• Shelter and sanitation remain urgent needs. The Red Cross is working to provide a range of immediate shelter assistance, and we also are working on a strategy
  to meet ongoing and long-term housing reconstruction needs. In addition, Red Cross Mass Sanitation teams are working to scale up latrine construction as
  quickly as possible in Port-au-Prince and Leogane.
• The American Red Cross will soon receive $6 million from MTV’s Hope for Haiti Now telethon. This money will be used to assist 36,000 families (about 180,000 people) with basic shelter materials and relief supplies such as mosquito nets, family tents and hygiene kits.

The American Red Cross has spent or committed more than $78 million to meet the most urgent needs of earthquake survivors.

This funding is aimed at immediate relief, and 71 percent of the funds spent or committed by the American Red Cross have been for food and water; 20 percent have been for shelter; and the rest are for health and family services.

• The Red Cross is working to help survivors with health care to address community health needs and the emerging threat of the spread of infectious disease.
• A major vaccination program begins Monday to vaccinate 250,000 children in settlements, ages 6 weeks – 7 years, against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus. Local and international Red Cross teams will join UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) to visit settlements throughout the city to vaccinate children. Along with vaccinations, the Red Cross will be teaching basic health skills, such as proper hand washing, waste disposal and safe food and water storage.
• Red Cross emotional support teams will also be on hand to help children with their emotional trauma caused by the earthquake.
• On average, 1,600 patients are being treated each day at the combined six Red Cross health facilities.
• The American Red Cross is in Haiti as a part of the broader and coordinated Red Cross and Red Crescent network.
• The American Red Cross has more than 100 relief specialists and volunteers helping with the relief efforts in Haiti (including Creole interpreters on the USNS Comfort hospital ship). In total, more than 600 Red Cross and Red Crescent workers from at least 30 countries around the world are in Haiti working with more than 2,500 Haitian Red Cross volunteers in areas such as health, logistics, and relief supply distribution.
• Each Red Cross society team has its own roles and expertise on the ground. Working together, the global Red Cross network provides a very powerful engine for relief and recovery.
• This is already the largest single-country relief operation in global Red Cross history in terms of emergency response teams deployed. The number of teams in
  Haiti is greater than the number that responded to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which spanned 14 countries.

Because of the generosity of donors, people in Haiti will receive more than immediate relief — they will receive resources, support and training from the Red Cross that will help them recover and rebuild in the years ahead.

• It is clear that what took minutes to destroy will take many years and the collective support from governments and relief agencies across the world to help mend. The American Red Cross is working in close coordination with other responding organizations and will undoubtedly collaborate on and support long-term recovery projects.
• The American Red Cross is applying experience gained following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. For the past five years, we have been working with
  partners to construct water and sanitation systems, providing emotional support and healthcare, building shelters, restoring livelihoods, and preparing
  communities for the next disaster. We plan to offer a similar level of support in close collaboration with Red Cross partners and other international and local aid organizations in Haiti.
• 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.

What can your donation really buy?

• $5 provides a water container to store clean drinking water .
• A $10 donation made through mobile giving would provide a first aid kit equipped with enough ointment and bandages for a Red Cross responder to treat 15-20
  injured earthquake survivors.
• Alternatively, $10 can provide a family with two water cans to store clean drinking water, basic first aid supplies or a blanket appropriate to the climate.
• $25 provides a family of 5 with a kitchen set giving them the ability to cook and serve food (a disaster can destroy even the most basic family possessions and restoring family’s self-sufficiency is essential). This includes two cooking pots, a frying pan, bowls, plates, cups, and utensils.
• $30 provides essential hygiene materials to 5 people for one month (ensuring adequate hygiene after a disaster is essential in promoting the health of those affected). This includes items like a toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, body
  soap, laundry soap, toilet paper, sanitary pads, a razor and a towel.
• $60 provides tarps, rope, wood and tools for a family of five to build a temporary shelter. (2 tarps, rope, hoe, machete, tin snips, handsaw, roofing nails, shovel, long nails, tie wire, claw hammer)
• $100 provides a cooking set, hygiene pack, blankets, and water containers for one family of five following a disaster.
• $500 provides a family tent for a family of 5

Are you looking for a family member?

This image made available by the Red Cross in London. Credit: Matthew Marek/American Red Cross

As a result of the earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January 2010, thousands of persons within Haiti and abroad have lost contact with their loved ones.

Locate Your Relatives. The aim of the Family Links website is to accelerate the process of restoring contact between separated family members. It is managed by the ICRC, in cooperation with the tracing services of the Haitian Red Cross Society and of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies throughout the world. At this stage, the website offers the possibility for persons in Haiti and abroad to publish the names of relatives with whom they are striving to restore contact. It will progressively incorporate information offering responses to those queries.

Haitian Red Cross volunter Miname Glaude holds 15 month old Michel Laurent at a Red Cross Medical center in Croix de Priez

Talia Frenkel/American Red Cross

Mission Statement

The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization lead by volunteers and guided by Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principals of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Please Make a note of our new address:

You may be aware that the Beaumont Chapter Red Cross building was damaged and deemed unsafe during Hurricane Rita in 2005.  We are excited to announce we have acquired a new Chapter House located at 3260 Eastex Freeway in Beaumont.  The location will be familiar to many as the former Social Security Building.  Please make note of our address change.  Our phone and fax numbers will remain the same.

• Medical teams in Haiti continue to evaluate and treat the victims of the earthquake. PAHO officials are coordinating the distribution of blood with the Haitian Ministry of Health.

  The National Blood Transfusion Program at the Ministry of Health in Haiti is working with local hospitals to distribute blood according to the needs of the earthquake victims. Future shipments will be coordinated with PAHO by the American Red Cross and filled through a cooperative effort with other blood collectors in the United States.

• The American Red Cross continues to meet the current needs of this tragedy from our existing blood supply. At this time we do not anticipate the need for a general donor appeal to support our efforts.

• There is an urgent need for eligible donors with Type O negative blood in this country to schedule a blood donation appointment as soon as possible. Type O negative blood is universal and can be given to anyone, regardless of their blood type, and is frequently used in emergency situations. Your blood donation will become part of the nation’s blood supply and will help ensure that we are prepared for any blood needs that arise right here in our community or wherever blood is needed.

Thank you to our corporate Partners!

Donations may also be made by mail or in person at the Beaumont Chapter, 3260 Eastex Freeway, Beaumont TX 77703

For more donation opportunities, please see our Donations page.