Tornado Affects Northeastern Area of Tallahassee

The Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross is on the scene in Northeastern area of Tallahassee to help those affected by today’s tornado and storm. The Capital Area Damage Assessment Team is en route to assess the unknown damage on 10 homes affected by the tornado that touched down in the Brill Point area of Tallahassee just north of Lake Jackson. Another Damage Assessment Team is en route to assess the known damage on one home off of Old Bainbridge Rd. and Leah Ln. due to a tree that fell on the home during the storm earlier today.

“In the days to come, The Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross will be coordinating with emergency officials and local community partners to help residents impacted by the storm and tornado get back on their feet,” said Debara Jump, Senior Director of External Relations. “The Red Cross will keep in constant contact with those affected for as long as needed.”

The Red Cross offers the following tips for those in the affected area to stay safer:

• Continue listening to local radio or television stations or a NOAA Weather Radio for updated information and instructions. If you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
• Avoid damaged areas as your presence might hamper rescue and other emergency operations and put you at further risk from the residual effects of tornadoes. 
• Stay out of damaged buildings.
• When it is safe to return home, wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and sturdy shoes when examining your walls, doors, staircases and windows for damage.
• Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines and report them to the utility company immediately.
• Use battery-powered lanterns or flashlights when examining buildings. Avoid using candles.
• If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and get everyone out of the building quickly. Turn off the gas using the outside main valve if you can, and call the gas company from a neighbor’s home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.
• Clean up spilled medications, bleaches, gasoline, or other flammable liquids that could become a fire hazard.
• Take pictures of the damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance claims.
• Use the telephone only for emergency calls. Telephone lines are frequently overwhelmed in disaster situations. They need to be kept clear for emergency calls to get through.
• Watch your animals closely. Keep all your animals under your direct control. Your pets may be able to escape from your home or through a broken fence. Pets may become disoriented, particularly because tornadoes and the heavy rains that accompany them will usually affect scent markers that normally allow animals to find their homes.

World Wide Wrap Up

Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

[The place names link to maps so that you can get a quick idea of the region.]

PAKISTAN: ICRC remains active in North-West Frontier Province. Together with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, they’ve just completed the first phase of an agricultural support program, helping 45,000 families kick-start farming in areas most affected by the fighting of the previous months. Video.

YEMEN: The ICRC has opened a new camp in Sa’ada for civilians fleeing conflict.

AFGHANISTAN: Meet Najmuddin. After losing his legs to a landmine, he obtained artificial legs – and a job – from the rehabilitation center of the ICRC in Kabul. Now, together with the ICRC, he is promoting the social reintegration of the people with disabilities in Afghanistan.

WEST BANK: This winter, the ICRC will provide 70,000 olive seedlings to farmers having a difficult time with their olive crops.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: The ICRC psychosocial and economic support programs in North Kivu help women, like Marie, who have suffered sexual abuse in the midst of conflict.

GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day which is held on 1 December every year. It is an international day to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS around the world. The first World AIDS Day was celebrated on 1 December 1988. This year’s focus during World AIDS Day is to address the critical need to protect human rights and make HIV prevention, treatment, care and support accessible to all.

Did you know that the local American Red Cross teaches a course about HIV/AIDS Awareness within the community? The class is taught the first Thursday of each month (unless otherwise scheduled) to teach the community about HIV/AIDS and other bloodborn pathogens. Check out our calendar for a list of current trainings.

For more information about the World AIDS Campaign or information about HIV/AIDS check out: http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/

End of the Hurricane Season!

Today officially marks the end of the Hurricane Season for 2009! It has been a relatively quite season this year with only a few surprises (Claudette and Ida). We just wanted to give a huge SHOUT OUT to all of our wonderful volunteers who have assisted us this year in our disaster responses.

Even though hurricane season is at an end, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue to prepare! With the weather getting cooler, it is important that you take the necessary precautions to keep your family safe from house fires and severe weather events. For information on how you can continue to be prepared visit our website!

Again, THANK YOU to all of our volunteers!

World Wide Wrap Up

Welcome to the Worldwide Wednesday Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

[The place names link to maps so that you can get a quick idea of the region.]

PAKISTAN: With ICRC support, the Pakistan Red Crescent Society is operating mobile health clinics for victims of violence in Waziristan. 

NEPAL: Where hundreds of people have lost an arm or leg to conflict, accident or disease, the ICRC runs a physical rehabilitation program. This week they launched a five-day “Amputee Follow-up” camp for more than 80 people to have their artificial limbs checked, adjusted and repaired.

COLOMBIA: As a part of its extensive HIV outreach program, the Columbian Red Cross is providing support for an orphanage for children orphaned by AIDS.

JAMAICA: The Red Cross is also a pioneer in HIV/AIDS programs in the Caribbean. 

WORLDWIDE: The IFRC is mobilizing Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world to tackle the global road safety crisis.

GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Capital Area Chapter Kicks Off the 7th Annual American Red Cross Blanket Days

“It seemed like a small thing, but when she put that blanket around my shoulders, while I sat there, I felt that somehow we would be okay.”

Beginning Nov.23, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2009, the Capital Area Chapter will be soliciting the help of the  local community, organizations and individuals within the community, schools,churches, businesses and other groups to donate new Twin-Size Blankets.

These blankets will be used to warm and comfort the ELDERLY, and FAMILIES suffering from home fires, throughout Florida’s Big Bend Region this winter.

You can help by collecting and donating NEW TWIN SIZE blankets. Blankets can be dropped off in the front office of the Capital Area Chapter located at 187 Office Plaza Drive Tallahassee, FL 32301. You can also help by making a financial donation toward the purchase of new blankets, or by volunteering. Please contact the Capital Area Chapter at (850) 878-6080 for more information. 

A Sneak Peek of Building…

Yesterday, we invited the media for a sneak preview of our almost completed new Chapter building. We are counting down the days until move in and are very excited to soon be opening our doors to the public at the new Chapter House!!

Below are some exerts from the Tallahassee Democrat or click here to see the video:

Workers from Culpepper Construction were putting the finishing touches on the new Capital Area Red Cross headquarters Thursday as the chapter’s staff toured the new facility. The move-in date is sometime next month with a grand opening for the 20,000 square-foot building in January.

“You could fit the old building into the meeting room,” Geri Eaton, chairman of the building committee, said of the chapter’s Office Plaza Drive location.”This is a giant step up from where we were,” Eaton said.

Tallahassee was one of four locations chosen by the Red Cross to open a new headquarters. Other locations were in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Mobile. The building, with expanded classrooms and Emergency Operations Center, was financed with money from the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society.

“We are excited to be able to have this facility in Tallahassee,” Eaton said. “The capabilities are tremendous compared to what they were.”

The American Red Cross’s International Initiatives: Measles Initiative

This week kicks off Florida State University’s International Education Week starting today, Monday 16th through the 20th. The International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide.  In partnership with FSU, our Chapter will be holding the American Red Cross Humanity in the Midst of War: An International Humanitarian Law course this week on Tuesday, November 17th and Thursday, November 19th at FSU CAMPUS. In Light of International Education Week we at the Chapter wanted to highlight some of the Red Cross’s International Efforts and Initiatives:

The Measles Initiative is a partnership committed to reducing measles deaths globally. Launched in 2001, the Initiative—led by the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the World Health Organization—provides technical and financial support to governments and communities on vaccination campaigns and disease surveillance worldwide.  To learn more or make a donation, visit www.measlesinitiative.org.

Key Statistics

• Between 2000 and 2007, global measles mortality in all ages was reduced by 74%, from an estimated 750,000 deaths in 2000 to an estimated 197,000 deaths in 2007.

• Estimated deaths from measles by WHO regions in 2007:
• Southeast Asia:                136,000
• Africa:                              45,000
• Eastern Mediterranean:        10,000
• Western Pacific:                  7,000
• Americas and Europe:          <1,000

• The largest percent reductions during this time period were in the Eastern Mediterranean and African regions (where measles mortality decreased by 90% and 89% respectively); followed by the Western Pacific region (73% reduction) and the South East Asian Region (42% reduction). In the region of the Americas, measles has not been endemic since 2002.

• From 2000 to 2007, approximately 3.6 million deaths were averted as a result of accelerated activities (both increases in routine coverage and implementation of measles campaigns).

• Since 2001, the Measles Initiative has supported the vaccination of more than 600 million children, mostly in Africa and Asia.

• Of the 22 countries conducting vaccination campaigns in 2007, 18 (82%) countries integrated the campaigns with at least one other child survival intervention such as an insecticide-treated bed net, de-worming medicine, vitamin A, or polio vaccine.

• Between 2000 and 2007, global routine immunization coverage increased from 72% to 82%. Coverage varied significantly across geographical regions.  In the Africa region, routine coverage rose from 56% to 74%; in the Eastern Mediterranean region, from 73% to 84%; in the South East Asia region from 61% to 73%; and in the Western Pacific region, from 86% to 92%

• In 2007, more than 23 million one-year old children did not receive a dose of measles vaccine through routine immunization services. An estimated 15.2 million (65%) of these reside in 8 large countries: India (8.5 million children), Nigeria (2.0 million), China (1.0 million), Ethiopia (1.0 million), Indonesia (0.9 million), Pakistan (0.8 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (0.6 million) and Bangladesh (0.5 million).

• From 1998 through 2007, WHO’s measles and rubella laboratory network (MRLN) expanded from less than 40 laboratories to 679 national and subnational laboratories serving 164 countries.

• Our work is far from over. An estimated 540 children die from measles each day.

World Wide Wrap Up

In addition to promoting our International Humanitarian Law course we will be offering this week, we also thought its a perfect segway to introduce the “World Wide Wrap Up” segment we will be adding to our blog. We hope that these brief articles will help you learn more about the American Red Cross and its Internationl counterpart, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies.

[The place names link to maps so that you can get a quick idea of the region.]

UGANDA: “Some had never been hugged until they scored their first goal…” Former child soldiers meet not on the battlefield, but the soccer field for a friendly match supported by the IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support.

WORLDWIDE: In advance of Universal Children’s Day, the ICRC is calling for a stop to crimes against children in war.

BANGLADESH: Two years after Cyclone Sidr, close to 250,000 families have their lives back.

KENYA: Delegates from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are gathering in Nairobi this week to discuss strategies to effectively address the humanitarian challenges of the coming decade. You can read daily bulletins from the assembly.

GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Nothing Says Fun Like the Fair!!

Here at the Chapter, we want to give a huge round of applause for all of our volunteers who gave their time to man the booth at the North Florida Fair this year. It was a huge success!!

We gave out over a 1000 packets this year containing preparedness materials and hurricane survival guides. The Holiday Mail for Heroes was a HUGE success as well. We collected a ton of cards and handed out flyers for the campaign. The Chapter will continue to collect cards for this cause until December 7th.  So yet, again we want to say:

Thank You, Volunteers!