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To meet one of the most serious public health threats of the
century, the American Red Cross, in 1985, began its Public
Education Program to slow the spread of AIDS. During the 1980s and 1990s, the American Red Cross responded to thousands of natural disasters -- hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes -- provided shelter, food, and health and mental health services to address basic human needs. The United Nations and the United States Congress dubbed the 1990s the "Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction," meaning that the Red Cross and other organizations should call public attention to the urgent cause of reducing damage to life and property caused by natural disasters. The Red Cross saw the decade as a ten-year opportunity to spread its message of disaster preparedness, and it undertook renewed efforts to increase community disaster education with media campaigns and public education programs. The organization reassessed its disaster relief operations and applied lessons learned from past disasters to its plans for the future. Hurricane Hugo swept through the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands before slamming into the South Carolina coast in September 1989. By November 1989, the American Red Cross had provided relief in the form of emergency supplies and help with rent or temporary repairs to over 116,000 individuals and families. At the peak of activity, the Red Cross operated over 470 shelters. In the Caribbean, over 300 Red Cross paid staff and disaster specialists were assigned to help; while on the U.S. mainland, over 230 paid staff and disaster specialists were assigned to North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and West Virginia. Hugo's force decreased in the northeastern United States, but it already had destroyed over 16,500 dwellings, damaged another 140,000, caused at least 65 deaths, and disrupted electricity and water supplies to thousands of homes, schools, and offices. In September, the American Red Cross announced a $42 million disaster fund campaign to help storm victims, but by November, the cost of operations was up to $64 million, more than any other disaster in Red Cross history. As a result of Hurricane Hugo and an earthquake that struck Northern California 30 days later, the Red Cross budget for disaster operations was depleted. The organization called upon the American public for help and, by the end of 1989, it had received $139 million of which $35 million were corporate donations. On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew roared into south Florida with sustained winds of 145 mph and gusts up to 174 mph. Forty-one people were killed and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. A twelve-foot tidal surge flattened homes, mowed down trees, and destroyed Homestead Air Force Base. Wreaking $20 billion in damage in Florida, and ruining another 41 billion in buildings and crops in Louisiana and Mississippi, Hurricane Andrew was the costliest storm in U.S. history. Prior to Andrew's arrival, the Red Cross prepared for the disaster by setting up shelters for evacuees. Following the storm, damage assessment teams helped the organization understand and respond to the unprecedented magnitude of the catastrophe. After surveying the devastation in Florida and Louisiana, President Bush addressed the nation from the Oval Office, praising the generosity of the American people and asking that those who sought a way to help contribute money to the American Red Cross. In less than 24 hours, $4 million from over 53,000 Americans poured in. Four months after Hurricane Andrew struck, the Red Cross closed its last disaster service center in Homestead, but Red Cross workers continued to supply assistance for at least another year until the storms victims were able to stand on their own two feet. Some 14,800 Red Cross disaster workers were involved in the Hurricane Andrew operation. By 1993, the American Red Cross relief operation cost about $84 million. As torrential rain hit the Midwest in June and July of 1993,
the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers rose, defying the efforts of
volunteers who placed sandbags in front of the relentless
waters. During the floods, more than 14,500 people took refuge
at 148 Red Cross emergency shelters in nine states. In all, some
47,000 families were affected, and over 15,000 Red Cross
volunteers and paid staff poured into the area to assist the
victims. Volunteer relief workers, some of whom were flood
victims themselves, served meals, provided financial assistance,
distributed in-kind donations and cleanup kits, and replaced
tools to help people pull their lives back |
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During
the 1980s and 1990s, the American Red Cross responded to over
55,000 man-made and natural disasters on average each year, with
the number of disasters increasing steadily from 1990 to 1995.
Although the American Red Cross is not a government agency, its
authority to perform disaster services was formalized when it
was first chartered by Congress in 1900 to mitigate the
suffering caused by disasters. All relief given by the Red Cross
is provided to individuals based on verified disaster-caused
needs, and all Red Cross disaster relief was given
free-of-charge as a gift from the American people.
In
1979, there was a leak of radioactive materials at the nuclear
power plant in Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania. The White House
summoned Red Cross disaster specialists and told them to begin
planning for the possible mass evacuation of residents. Over
2,000 Red Cross volunteers helped chapters in nearby counties
plan for the possible evacuation of 300,000 people who might
need shelter and food for a considerable time. The danger was
reported as minimal, and only a relatively small number of
persons actually sought Red Cross assistance.
together.
By September 1993, the cost of the American Red Cross Midwest
Flood Relief was over $31 million. Cash donations were the
mainstay of the relief work, but the Red Cross also solicited
specific gifts of goods and services when bulk supplies were
needed. Many retailers and manufacturers joined forces with the
Red Cross to create a much-needed flow of goods and services,
including drinking water, bulk quantities of household supplies,
and personal items for distribution to flood victims. Four-wheel
drive pickup trucks were necessary to transport Red Cross
workers and supplies around the flood-ravaged communities in
Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and other Mid-Western states
along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
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