Friday, August 17, 2018 — In response to this week’s historic flooding, the Red Cross of Eastern Pennsylvania continues its disaster recovery efforts throughout the region, including communities hardest hit in Schuylkill and Susquehanna Counties.
Since Monday, Red Cross volunteers have served more than 600 meals and distributed 500 disaster clean up kits. Many meals and kits were handed out door-to-door by volunteers driving through the hardest-hit areas.
A total of 10 shelters and evacuation centers were opened throughout Eastern Pennsylvania this week, providing safe shelter for well over 100 people. Evacuation centers have been opened in Delaware, Montgomery, Schuylkill, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties. Five of these centers were open in Schuylkill County alone. Red Cross shelters have provided 64 overnight stays for those who haven’t been able to return home.
The Red Cross is continuing to focus on both disaster response and recovery. Teams of disaster workers are still assessing the damage in several area counties. In addition to handing out hot meals and clean-up kits, Red Cross caseworkers will be meeting individually with families displaced by flooding to determine their needs. Together with community partners, the Red Cross will help start families on their road to recovery.
HOW YOU CAN HELP Help people affected by disasters like floods and countless other crises by making a donation to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small across the United States. Please consider making a donation today. Visit www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends goes to its programs and services, which includes providing food, shelter, relief supplies, emotional support and other assistance, as well as supporting the vehicles, warehouses, technology and people that make help possible.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.