ROCHESTER, N.Y., Tuesday, September 22, 2009 – The Greater Rochester Chapter of the American Red Cross is deploying volunteer Sarah Perkins, resident of Pittsford to Atlanta, GA to help with flooding disaster relief efforts tomorrow morning.
Perkins will be available for interviews at 5:15 a.m. tomorrow Wednesday, September 23 from the
Greater Rochester International Airport Delta Counter
Perkins will work as a Damage Assessment Volunteer and train other Red Cross volunteers to perform damage assessment in the flood affected areas. Damage Assessment consists of surveying and reporting the severity of the disaster affected areas so the Red Cross can provide emergency relief to residents affected in those particular locations.
“At this time no other requests to deploy additional volunteers have been made to the Greater Rochester Red Cross,” said Leighton Jones, Director of Disaster and Emergency Services at the Greater Rochester Red Cross. “We will continue to respond as needed. Volunteers deployed on a National Disaster may be gone for up to three weeks.”
As rising flood waters cover the Southeast, hundreds have looked to the American Red Cross for shelter and other assistance as officials estimate the number of people needing help could rise dramatically. The Red Cross will continue to provide a safe place to stay, food to eat, and a shoulder to lean on for those affected by the flooding which has prompted evacuations, washed out bridges, caused landslides, and closed highways across the area.
Overnight more than 220 people took refuge in Red Cross shelters in Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. Georgia has been hit the hardest, particularly around the city of Atlanta where as much as a foot of rain fell Monday. Preliminary estimates from emergency management officials indicate that as many as 1,000 people could potentially need sheltering.
For more information contact Nadine Krimow, Communications Manager at 585-370-1834 or visit us online at www.RochesterRedCross.org.
About the American Red Cross
Help people affected by disasters like the current floods by donating to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. On those rare occasions when donations exceed Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for disasters and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to victims of all disasters. Call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross Greater Rochester Chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.