Red Cross Response to Lake Effect Snow Continues

The American Red Cross continues to operate and support multiple shelters across Western New York in response to the ongoing lake effect snow event. Over 200 people spent Tuesday evening in shelters, and volunteers are currently providing food, water, blankets and additional support at the following locations:

·         Alexander Fireman’s Recreation Hall
10708 Alexander Road, Alexander

·         Amherst Community Center
4255 Harlem Road, Amherst

·         Buffalo Fire Department
(supporting with 50 cots, blankets and comfort kits)

·         Cheektowaga Senior Center (supporting with blankets only)
3349 Broadway, Cheektowaga

·         Depew Senior Center
85 Manitou Street, Depew

·         Lackawanna Senior Center (limited access-attempting to support)
234 Martin Road, Lackawanna

·         Lancaster Fire Department (supporting with food)
525 Pavement Road, Lancaster

·         Lancaster Volunteer Ambulance Corp
(supporting with 30 cots and 40 blankets)

·         Orchard Park Presbyterian Church
4369 South Buffalo Street, Orchard Park

·         Ripley Fire Hall
11 South State Street, Ripley

In addition to thanking our volunteers who continue to donate their time and talents, the Red Cross wishes to thank Domino’s Pizza, Panera Bread, Tim Hortons and Wegmans for their generous donations to support these shelters, as well as Tops Markets for their support.

With additional lake effect snow warnings in effect for much of the area, Red Cross staff and volunteers remain in contact with emergency officials from across Western New York and are ready to respond as needed.

The Red Cross urges everyone to heed travel warnings and stay off the roads if possible. Residents should ensure that furnace vents are clear of snow in order to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Should residents lose power, don’t use a generator, grill, camp stove or other gasoline, propane, natural gas or charcoal-burning devices in any enclosed area. Locate units away from doors, windows and vents that could allow carbon monoxide to come indoors. Additional winter storm safety tips are available at www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/winter-storm. 

Busy weekend for our amazing volunteers!

Volunteers set up refreshments in shelter
at North Tonawanda HS

Volunteers from the American Red Cross, Serving Erie & Niagara Counties provided immediate emergency assistance for 19 people following four separate fires in less than 24 hours this weekend.

Members of the Disaster Action Team (DAT) were called to two storm-related fires in the early morning hours on Saturday, assisting a family of five after a tree fell on their Austin Street home in Buffalo and started a small fire, and assisting an elderly man after his Lackawanna trailer home was destroyed by fire. Before 3pm Saturday, DAT volunteers had responded to two calls in Niagara Falls, assisting three adults and a child after a fire on LaSalle Avenue in and seven adults and two children after a separate blaze on 5^th Street. Red Cross assistance typically includes vouchers for temporary housing, food and clothing as well as emotional support. Clients will then meet with caseworkers to begin working on a long-term recovery plan.

Thankfully, we did not need to unload the cots from this
trailer, but they were ready at North Tonawanda HS
just in case

Meanwhile, volunteers opened a shelter at approximately 10:30am Saturday at North Tonawanda High School at the request of Emergency Management officials for residents flooded and left without power following Friday night’s storms. No clients sought assistance at the shelter before it was closed Saturday afternoon, but the Red Cross remained in contact with Emergency Management officials from across the region to assess needs throughout the weekend.

All Red Cross is assistance is free, and we rely on the generosity of the American public to provide these vital services to the community. Anyone wishing to help people affected by fires, flooding or other disasters is asked to consider donating to the Disaster Relief Fund by calling 1-800-REDCROSS, visiting www.redcross.org, or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to charge a $10 donation to their cell phone bill.

Red Cross Responding to Hurricane Sandy

Nine volunteers deployed downstate; shelter locations and volunteers on standby across WNY Region

BUFFALO, NY, Monday, October 29, 2012 — The American Red Cross is responding across multiple states as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast. A High Wind Warning is in effect for all of Western New York from 5pm Monday until 2pm Tuesday, with winds gusting as high as 60mph, and these potentially damaging winds could cause widespread power outages. A Flood Watch is also in affect for the entire region during that same timeframe, with two to three inches of rainfall expected, and a Lakeshore Flood Warning is in effect for Niagara, Orleans and Chautauqua Counties.

The American Red Cross has potential shelter locations and volunteers on standby throughout the eight counties of the Western New York region, ready to respond as needed. The Red Cross is also working closely with government officials to plan and coordinate the relief response.

Important information about how to get ready for the storm – steps to take for emergencies like flooding, power outages, even winter weather - is available on the Red Cross web site. Videos are also available to help people get prepared, including information on severe weather preparedness and how to get ready for winter weather. To find a shelter, people can download the Red Cross Hurricane app, visit the Red Cross web site, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767), or check local media outlets. They should also register on the Red Cross Safe and Well website, a secure and easy-to-use online tool that helps families connect during emergencies. To register, visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). This site also connects with the Twitter and Facebook accounts of users.

In addition, nine volunteers from the Western New York Region have been deployed to White Plains, NY to assist in the Red Cross relief efforts, and Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV’s) from both Niagara County and Jamestown are on alert. Here is a full list of local volunteers currently deployed to assist in the response to Hurricane Sandy:

·         James Collingwood of Amherst for External Relations/Government Operations

·         Tom Daley of Tonawanda for Mass Care/Sheltering

·         Janice Davis of Friendship for Disaster Health Services

·         Marianne Evans of Ransomville for Mass Care/Sheltering

·         Michael Hoplight of Niagara Falls as a Logistics Supervisor

·         Tara Hughes of Amherst as Disaster Mental Health Chief

·         Margaret McGee-Smith of Kenmore for Disaster Mental Health in Harrisburg, PA

·         Beth Shook of Cuba for Staff Services

·         Dawn Zaker of Niagara Falls for Mass Care/Sheltering

The large and powerful storm could affect as many as 60 million people in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and the Red Cross has workers and relief supplies in place to provide help to people in the path of Sandy.

The effects of the storm are already being felt with 128 people spending Saturday night in Red Cross shelters in North Carolina and Virginia. Red Cross workers are preparing to open and support more shelters today as the storm moves northward.

Almost 100 Red Cross emergency vehicles are mobilizing to distribute meals and relief supplies after the storm passes. Thousands of ready-to-eat meals and relief supplies such as cots and blankets are also being sent into the region.

HOW TO HELP  Donations help the Red Cross provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected by disasters like Hurricane Sandy. To donate, people can 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 someone’s local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

Volunteer Diane Sargent in Florida
earlier in 2012

PLEASE GIVE BLOOD The storm has already caused the cancellation of Red Cross blood drives in the region, and more cancellations are expected. This has resulted in the loss of several hundred units of blood and platelets so far. The Red Cross has shipped blood products to hospitals in the affected area in advance of the storm as patients will still need blood and platelets despite the weather. If anyone is eligible, especially in places not affected by the storm, they are asked to please schedule a blood donation now.

To schedule a blood donation or get more information about giving blood, people can visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). To give blood, someone must be at least 17 years of age, meet weight and height requirements and be in general good health. 

Donors should bring their Red Cross blood donor card or other form of positive ID with them.  Some states allow 16-year-olds to give with parental consent.

RED CROSS APPS People should download the free Red Cross Hurricane and First Aid apps for mobile devices to have emergency information at their fingertips. The Hurricane App keeps people up to date on the situation with weather alerts, locations of Red Cross shelters, and features a toolkit with a flashlight, strobe light and alarm. The “I’m Safe” button lets someone use social media sites to tell family and friends they are okay. And it’s available in Spanish by changing the language setting on someone’s smart phone to Spanish before downloading.  The First Aid app includes expert advice for everyday emergencies. The apps can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross.

Surprise!! Where Were You, Five Years Ago Today?

If you were living in Western New York at the time, you likely have vivid memories of October 12th, 2006.  At the time, I was not yet fortunate enough to be a member of the Red Cross family.  I left for my job at a local tv station that afternoon, thinking it was a little chilly and cursing those pesky white flakes for falling so early in the year.  As the evening wore on my wife called, very concerned.  She was hearing a constant cracking noise and was afraid a tree was going to fall into our house.  Later, she said we had lost power, branches were coming down everywhere, and she was going to a friends house.  That tree eventually did fall into our house, but instead of crashing through it just leaned against the structure.  Others weren't so lucky.

Back at the tv station, the sports office didn't have any windows, so we were pretty isolated from the outside world.  "How bad can it be?" I thought, and in my stubbornness I drove home at the end of the night.  Five years later, I still don't know how I made it.  Everywhere, trees and debris lay in the streets, and all the street lights were out.  Over the next several hours, the damage caused by the October Surprise storm became quite clear.  400,000 Western New Yorkers were without power (ours was out for a week) and 80% of roads in the area were impassable, according to the New York State Thruway Authority.  The impact can still be seen today, as some once tree-lined streets remain empty.

During times like the October Storm, people turn to the Red Cross to turn Heartbreak into Hope.  Even though they had their own cleanup issues to deal with, our Disaster Action Team worked with the emergency management teams of the City of Buffalo and Erie County to open multiple shelters across the area, giving those with nowhere else to turn a warm place to stay.  As always, our volunteers and staff members gave up their time and talents to help their neighbors in need over the days and weeks that followed.

The events of five years ago are called the "October Surprise" because no one saw that storm coming.    It's difficult to think about today with temperatures in the 60's, but we urge you to take steps now to make sure you're prepared before the next disaster strikes.  We have some winter storm safety tips on our website, and encourage you to schedule a free disaster preparedness program at your school, business, or organization.

Everyone who was in Western New York on October 12th, 2006 has their own storm stories.  Please share your October Surprise memories in the comments section here or over on our Facebook page, and when you're done, take a few minutes to make sure that emergency kit is ready to go.  You know, just in case!!

Storms A'Brewin'!!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that a massive winter storm is headed our way this evening, predicted to dump over a foot of snow on Western New York by 10pm Wednesday.  As we've already seen this winter, it doesn't take nearly that much of the white stuff to cause problems.  Hopefully everyone will stay safe this time around, but thanks to your support, the Red Cross is ready to help if needed.  In fact, we've done this sort of thing before!

 

In early December, a lake effect snow storm left some travelers stranded on New York State Thruway for over 24 hours.  Our Disaster Action Team set up a shelter at the Cheektowaga Senior Center, providing 85 people with a food, water, a way to contact loved ones, and most importantly, heat!  The Red Cross also provided hotel rooms for 13 people who didn't have a way home at the end of the evening.

During that same storm, a family was forced out of the house they were renting after the weight of multiple feet of snow caused the roof to collapse on the home. The Red Cross provided the family with money for food, new clothes, and a place to stay. Our staff also worked with the family to create a plan to help them put their lives back together, offering to pay the security deposit and first months rent on a new apartment.

Of course, when high winds combine with snow and ice, a widespread disaster including massive power outages is always possible.  Think back to October of 2006--the surprise storm left hundreds without power for days, with trees and power lines covering roads and damaging houses.  The Red Cross opened shelters across Erie County, even setting up cots for people to stay with us right here at Chapter heaquarters!

We count on you to be there for us, year after year, with your meaningful gift to the American Red Cross.  Donating is simple--just go to our website and help us continue to be What Happens Next when disaster strikes.  While you're there, check out some of our winter preparedness tips and make sure our winter wonderland doesn't turn into a nightmare.

Blow it out!

There is only one time of the year that we here at the Chapter think candles are a swell idea… that’s right, your birthday!  Candles are one of the leading causes of house fires across the world, so the more we can do to keep from lighting them, the better. 

Did you know that when communities lose power, the percentage of house fires always increases over the next 48 hours? Why, you might ask? Because of the increased use of candles! To help prevent this, be sure to stock your emergency kit with batteries and flashlights (Be sure to store the batteries separate!) so that the next time you’re without power, you can light up a room without lighting up your entire house!

For more information on fire safety visit us!