Tornado Rips Through Alabama 4-27-2011 - Please Help!

"It looks like a war zone...
our livelihood is gone...
you keep thinking 'how can I get through it?'"
- Tornado Survivor, 2011 Spring Storms

With winds up to 80 miles per hour, the recent band of tornadoes on Friday, April 15 left a trail of destruction across the state of Alabama, after it pummeled Oklahoma, Arkansas and Mississippi. After tornadoes touched down in at least 6 different counties, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has declared a state of emergency. At least seven people in Alabama have died. As local communities emerge to assess the damage, the Red Cross was on the scene minutes after the disaster to provide relief and assistance.

Preliminary damage assessments indicate that in the state of Alabama alone, 128 homes have been destroyed, 70 homes have sustained major damage and over 50 homes have minor damage. No town has been hit harder than Geiger, Alabama, about an hour south of Tuscaloosa. The entire town population has been affected with 100 homes sustaining damage and 61 homes being completely destroyed.

Tornadoes come and go with little warning and families can lose their home in an instant. As these communities band together to rebuild and return to normalcy, individuals and families are turning to the American Red Cross for the shelter, food, emotional support and emergency assistance. Please help us continue to deliver these critical services, and to be ready for the next tornado.

With 12,000 homes still without power and hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed, the Red Cross is providing shelter as residents rebuild their homes, none of which could be possible without the support of individuals, community organizations, corporations and foundations. Our disaster relief programs ensure that lifesaving services are available immediately to all people affected by disaster, as well as to prepare communities for disasters before they strike.

The Red Cross is prepared to respond to disasters like these at a moment’s notice, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The Red Cross is already providing shelters in the affected areas; serving hot meals and snacks, and distributing comfort kits and other items. To support people after the tornadoes, the Red Cross will be distributing cleanup kits containing gloves, a mop, bleach and a dust mask. Disaster workers in emergency response vehicles are circulating throughout the region, delivering hot meals and cleanup kits as people begin to recover from the disaster. Those who lost contact with their loved ones due to power and phone outages can leave message of their well-being for the Safe and Well Red Cross website at any Red Cross shelter.

Every year the Red Cross spends an average of $450 million on our Disaster Services program. Not only does it cover our direct services to our clients, it also includes costs to maintain those things that help us provide assistance to people in need. We have warehouses, disaster response vehicles, trained volunteers, computer systems and paid staff ready to respond year round. It is through the ongoing support of the public that we can continue to maintain these resources 24-7 and ready to respond when disaster strikes.

The Red Cross is doing everything we can to ensure that when families and individuals are affected by disaster, we are there. We cannot do it alone. Help us continue this life saving work today and make a donation today to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your donation is critical to providing a safe, warm and dry place to stay, food, emotional support and many other kinds of assistance- whenever and wherever disaster strikes.

How You Can Help

You can help people affected by disasters like the Alabama tornadoes, 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 or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. 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.