Red Cross Urges Storm Readiness

Charleston, W.Va. –

The American Red Cross is preparing to respond to Hurricane Sandy in West Virginia and urges residents to get ready too.

“The West Virginia Region] is mobilizing volunteers, shelters, relief supplies and disaster vehicles to help,” said Cheryl Ingraham, Regional Emergency Services Director. “The best thing families can do is to get ready now by staying informed about Sandy’s progress, listening to the advice of local authorities, checking their emergency supplies, and reviewing their household’s emergency plan.”

Across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, the Red Cross is moving disaster workers into areas that weather experts say will be affected by the storm and has more than 100 emergency response vehicles on alert. The Red Cross is also working closely with government officials, as well as community partners to coordinate response efforts.

GET READY The Red Cross has information on its web site about how to get prepared for the storm, including steps for hurricane and power outage emergencies. Videos are also available to help get prepared, including information on severe weather preparedness, how to get ready for winter weather and what to do when rip currents are an issue.

RED CROSS APPS The free Red Cross Hurricane App for mobile devices provides real-time hurricane safety information such as weather alerts and where Red Cross shelters are located. The app also features a toolkit with a flashlight, strobe light and alarm, and the one-touch “I’m Safe” button lets someone use social media outlets to tell family and friends they are okay. The Hurricane App is available in Spanish. Users just need to make sure the language setting on their smart phone is set to Spanish before downloading. The First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in someone’s hand. The apps can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross.

HOW TO HELP To help people affected by disasters like hurricanes, as well as countless crises at home and around the world, make 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.

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 join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

Story By

Heather Niday

Heather is our Program Director and Traffic Manager. She started with Allegheny Mountain Radio as a volunteer deejay. She then joined the AMR staff in February of 2007. Heather grew up in the Richmond, Virginia, area and now lives in Arbovale, West Virginia with her husband Chuck. Heather is a wonderful flute player, and choir director for Arbovale UMC. You can hear Heather along with Chuck on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8pm as they host two hours of jazz on Something Different.

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