| Red Cross offers relief in disasters |
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Posted: Monday, January 2, 2012 9:04 pm
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By KEVIN BOWDEN
Staff Reporter
Across Obion County and around the world, the American Red Cross was there when disasters struck in 2011.
The American Red Cross responded to 137 major relief operations in 46 states this past year.
It was a year filled with major disasters that included tornadoes, floods, wildfires and hurricanes in the United States as well as other disasters around the world.
This past year included some changes in the way the American Red Cross serves Obion County.
On Aug. 1, Obion County became a part of a newly-organized six-county territory. The new territory consists of Obion, Lake, Weakley, Dyer, Lauderdale and Crockett counties.
The headquarters for the Red Cross agency serving this region is located in Dyersburg.
Since the new territory was established on Aug. 1, the agency has responded to four fires and one flood in Obion County.
A total of 14 individuals in Obion County were helped by the American Red Cross, with $1,920 given out to help those individuals, according to chapter executive Lynn Fritchey.
Bubba Cobb is the director of emergency services for the Dyersburg agency and he can be reached at (731) 286-4740 or (731) 676-0405.
“The number of lives affected by large disasters in the past year is simply staggering,” Ms. Fritchey said.
“Devastating tornadoes, flooding and wildfires wiped out entire neighborhoods. Through it all, the Red Cross, our partners and communities nationwide responded, offering people shelter, food and comfort.”
According to a news release provided by Ms. Fritchey, the American Red Cross opened 1,019 shelters in the United States in 2011 and provided more than 130,000 overnight stays.
During the year, trained disaster workers served more than 6.7 million meals and snacks and delivered more than 2.6 million relief items. Health and mental health workers provided more than 133,000 consultations and Red Cross workers opened 16,752 cases to help people get on the road to recovery.
It was this past year that flooding impacted nearly 20 states, including Tennessee. The American Red Cross launched 27 relief operations to deal with all the flooding.
Then there was Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, which prompted the Red Cross to launch relief operations in more than a dozen states
Staff Reporter Kevin Bowden may be contacted by email at kmbowden@ucmessenger.com. Published in The Messenger 1.2.12 |
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