Hurricane Irene is headed toward the East Coast and the American Red Cross is mobilizing disaster workers and equipment along much of the eastern seaboard to help those in the path of this powerful storm

Locally, the Southeastern Michigan Region of the American Red Cross has sent 12 volunteers to help prepare the East Coast for the storm. Volunteers from Washtenaw County, Lenawee County, Monroe County and the Detroit area are on their way to areas of Virginia and Boston. The Red Cross will send more volunteers from the area if needed.

"The Red Cross is moving volunteers, vehicles and supplies, getting ready for a response effort that spans nearly the entire East Coast," said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. "While we're getting ready at the Red Cross, we want everyone in the storm's path to get ready as well by getting a disaster kit, making a family emergency plan, and listening to local officials regarding evacuations."

Dozens of shelters are being prepared all along the East Coast. People can find open Red Cross shelters by viewing an interactive Google map at www.redcross.org or by downloading the free Red Cross shelter app for their iPhone from the iTunes store. A mobile-friendly version of the Hurricane Safety Checklist is now available for smart phone users to download at www.redcross.org/mobile.

Hurricane Irene has caused significant damage in the southern Bahamas and the Bahamas Red Cross is managing shelters and helping people displaced by the storm. A regional disaster management expert is headed to the Bahamas today to assist with disaster assessment and response. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Red Cross is mobilizing volunteers as flooding, damage to homes and impassable roads are left in the storm’s wake. The United Nations is reporting hundreds of homes have been damaged and it is difficult to communicate with many localities.

American Red Cross disaster preparedness starts long before a hurricane makes landfall, beginning with keeping supplies and equipment on stand-by all year to help people in need. On average, the Red Cross spends about $450 million on disaster relief every year. If someone would like to support Red Cross disaster efforts, they can make a donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS, texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation, or sending contributions to their local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

• Hurricane Irene could affect many parts of the East Coast later this week and American Red Cross chapters all along the Atlantic Coast are getting ready.
• Trained Red Cross disaster relief workers are being mobilized to prepare shelters and relief supplies for a full East Coast response.
• More than 80 mobile feeding vehicles and trucks equipped with communications technology are already moving towards North Carolina, where Irene is predicted to make landfall.
• Red Cross workers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are working with government partners to assess the damage caused as Irene passed over the region on Monday causing power outages and flooded roads. Four Red Cross shelters opened on Sunday are now closed as residents have returned home to begin cleaning up.
• Just as the Red Cross is preparing for Hurricane Irene, the first hurricane of the Atlantic Hurricane season, people along the coast need to get ready too.
• Residents along the coast should take the threat of Irene seriously and finalize hurricane plans and update their emergency supply kits.
• The Red Cross recommends three quick steps to take now to be prepared for emergencies like hurricanes – build a kit, make a plan and be informed.
• Emergency kits should contain a three-day supply of water for each person, along with food that doesn’t require refrigeration, flashlights, a battery-operated radio and a first aid kit. A full list of suggested items is available on redcross.org.
• It’s also important for businesses and schools to prepare for Irene by making sure warning or alert systems for employees are in order and contact information is up-to-date. More information on being prepared is available at readyrating.org.
• Hurricane Irene could cause powerful rip currents and dangerous surf for the East Coast. The Red Cross advises anyone visiting beaches to swim only on lifeguard protected beaches and within designated swimming areas.
• If caught in a rip current, remember to remain calm and avoid fighting against the current. Instead, swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline.
• If unable to swim out of the current, float or calmly tread water. If possible, yell for help and draw attention to yourself.
• Visit www.redcross.org for more preparedness and safety tips.
• Red Cross work starts long before a hurricane makes landfall. In fact, we keep a variety of supplies and equipment on stand by year round to be ready to help people in need.
• In an average year, the Red Cross spends about $450 million on disaster relief throughout the United States and around the world. This includes sheltering, feeding and relief supplies for the approximately 70,000 disasters we respond to every year.
• This amount also includes the costs to be ready to respond to any disaster by maintaining those things that help the Red Cross to get assistance to people in need.
• For example, we have 26 warehouses stocked with disaster relief supplies, more than 60,000 trained workers, and more than 320 mobile response vehicles ready to respond year round. If we didn’t maintain these resources 24/7, we couldn’t get help to people in a timely fashion.
• Hurricane season comes on the heels of what was a busy spring for the Red Cross with 46 relief operations across 31 states helping people affected by devastating floods, tornadoes and wildfires.
• The Red Cross deployed nearly 14,000 people who worked tirelessly to open 287 shelters, serve 3.5 million meals and snacks, hand out 1.8 million relief items, and provide 81,000 mental health and health consultations.
• Our work continues in North Dakota where thousands of homes were destroyed by floodwaters. Red Cross workers are ensuring that everyone has a safe place to stay and a warm meal as recovery efforts progress.
• Please click, text or call to donate to the Red Cross to help people affected by disasters. Every single donation brings hope to those in need.
• You can help people affected by disasters like floods and hurricanes, as well as countless crises at home and around the world, by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief.
• Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters.
• Visit www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
• Contributions may also be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

The Southeastern Michigan Chapter of the American Red Cross is calling all motorcyclists to go “cruising’ for a cause” on Sunday, August 7, 2011 and take part in a 60-mile scenic tour of Oakland County’s finest roads and back roads. The Southeastern Michigan Chapter’s Ride for Red will benefit the organization’s local core services, which includes, disaster relief, service to the armed forces and health and safety training. All funds raised will be used locally.

Kick-stands will go up at ABC Harley-Davidson in Waterford at 11 a.m.with the first stop at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly where Red Bull will be onsite handing out a cool refreshment. The next stop is in Leonard where riders will enjoy Cold Stone ice cream compliments of Cold Stone Creamery. The ride will commence at O’Connor’s in Downtown Rochester for a Pig Roast dinner, live entertainment, and chance to win some great prizes.

The event is open to all motorcycle enthusiasts, bike models and the general public. The cost is $20 per rider and $35 with a passenger. Included in registration is an authentic “Ride for the Red” patch, ride pin, light breakfast and buffet.

Non-bikers can also come out to support the local Red Cross and enjoy a great Pig Roast dinner for only $12.95 per person.

Pre-register online at semredcross.org or at ABC Harley-Davidson in Waterford at 9:00 a.m. on the day of the ride. For more information or to register by phone, call (313) 833-2632.

This event is scheduled to happen rain or shine.

Red Cross Champions O’Connor’s Public House and ABC Harley-Davidson are the official organizers of Ride for the Red.

WASHINGTON, Thursday, July 28, 2011 — The American Red Cross today announced a pledge of up to $1 million for the evolving humanitarian crisis in eastern Africa, continuing its history of support to the region.

With 2011 classified as the driest year on record in the eastern Horn of Africa, the health, livelihoods and food security of millions of Somalis, Ethiopians and Kenyans are at serious risk.

“The need is dire at best as families grapple with the lack of food, water and health services, and the American Red Cross is eager to support our local partners that are tackling malnutrition, providing water and medical care, stabilizing livelihoods, and mitigating other consequences of this complex crisis,” said Apu Patel, regional director for Africa with the American Red Cross.

With water sources dwindling, rural families are increasingly consuming untreated water, collected directly from streams and rivers, putting them at serious risk from waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Fields used by farmers for grazing livestock have dried up in the worsening drought, causing many families to uproot and migrate in search of viable food and water sources. The rising cost of fuel and food as well as political insecurity in some areas of Somalia has also exacerbated problems.

“Many people are living in the open or in makeshift camps,” Patel said. “They represent a heavy burden for the host communities that share their scarce resources with them. Most of the displaced have nothing left to sell and cannot buy food, which is resulting in even higher malnutrition rates among displaced people.”

In the face of this growing humanitarian tragedy, the Somali Red Crescent, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is expanding its existing outpatient therapeutic feeding programs in southern Somalia. Together, they are also launching an additional feeding program for malnourished children under five and other vulnerable groups, such as pregnant and lactating women, and recruiting additional nurses and nutritionists to visit people in the worst affected areas. The two organizations are also complementing the feeding programs with targeted food distributions.

In Somalia, Red Cross and Red Crescent teams are also offering medical treatments as well as distributing seeds, farming tools, irrigation pumps and fishing equipment to help stabilize livelihoods. And in Kenya and Ethiopia, the Red Cross is helping those affected by the drought through school feeding programs, well rehabilitation, water trucking and general food distribution.

Even with these activities, the region’s current and predicted need far outweighs the humanitarian response. With no likelihood of improvement until early 2012, the situation will require large scale and sustained humanitarian assistance.

“The tragedy in the Horn of Africa is chronic, and even as we respond with emergency aid for these new developments, we must also work on longer-term solutions,” Patel said. “The global Red Cross and Red Crescent network was one of the first organizations to sound the alarm and launch an international response, but the solution to this crisis is a long-term commitment to building up resilience and capacity within the region’s most vulnerable communities.”

Gifts to the American Red Cross can support our disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the drought and current humanitarian emergency in Horn of Africa. On those rare occasions when donations exceed American Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters. The public may visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. Contributions may also be sent to local American Red Cross chapters or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

July 19, 2011-Detroit, MI-The American Red Cross, Southeastern Michigan Regional Chapter is working with the Metro-Detroit Climate Justice Task Force to launch an awareness campaign in response to the current heat emergency. The task force is distributing literature and community events to share tips as well as emergency planning to senior citizens and children.

In addition the Red Cross is providing water, comfort kits and cots for cooling centers in Detroit, Dearborn and Livonia and the Red Cross expects to add cities to that list later today.

In recent years, excessive heat has caused more deaths than all other weather events, including floods. As temperatures and humidity levels soar in Southeast Michigan and in many parts of the country, protecting yourself and others from overheating is critical to avoid a potential heat-related illness. Here are some easy tips for staying safe during heat waves, courtesy of Dr. David Markenson, chair, American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council.

Never leave a child or pet in a parked car – even for a few minutes. The inside temperature of a car can quickly reach 120 degrees.
Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day – even if you don’t feel thirsty. Avoid drinks with caffeine or alcohol that dehydrate the body.
Dress for the heat. Wear loose-fitting, lightweight, light-colored clothing in layers. Avoid dark colors that absorb the sun’s rays.
If you must work outdoors, take frequent breaks to hydrate and cool yourself. Avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day.
Protect your self from sun exposure even on cloudy or hazy days. In addition to dressing for heat, apply a broad-spectrum (protection against both UVA and UVB rays) sunscreen and reapply as indicated, wear eye protection (wraparound sunglasses that provide 100 percent UV ray protection) and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
Be a good neighbor. Check in on the elderly, young children and pets to make sure they are not suffering from the heat.

Additional heat safety tips are available on semredcross.org. Learn how to prevent and treat heat-related illnesses by attending a Red Cross First Aid course. Contact your local Red Cross or visit redcross.org/training for details or to register.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission.