Red Cross accepting donations

Local offices of the American Red Cross are accepting contributions to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund in response to the tsunami disaster in American Samoa. The Disaster Relief Fund helps people affected by disasters like the tsunami and the North Dakota floods this past spring. Donations earmarked to the Disaster Relief Fund can be sent to the local chapter office at 300 Second Ave. N.E. Suite 213 or PO Box 944 Jamestown, ND, 58402, and will be forwarded on to the Disaster Relief Fund.

Seventy-one Red Cross volunteers from the United States mainland and Hawaii are currently on the ground in American Samoa. These disaster workers are trained to organize and help set up a local response, utilizing the resources currently on the ground. Twelve of these deployed Red Cross volunteers are nurses and mental health workers who will conduct outreach to families of the individuals who lost their lives in the disaster, to offer comfort, crisis counseling and medical attention.

Sixteen shelters have been opened and Red Cross volunteers are working with church groups to get survivors registered with the Red Cross Safe and Well Website so they can communicate their status to those who may be concerned about them.

In partnership with FEMA, the Red Cross is coordinating a plan for continued bulk distribution of food (currently 10,000 meals have been served), water and supplies. Dozens of local American Samoa Red Cross volunteers are currently feeding emergency workers, clearing roads of debris, and assessing damage across the island.

Tags: local news, red cross, disaster relief, tsunami, news, international