American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region - Annual Report FY13 | Page 8

Across the Country

Answering Crisis With Action
From natural events to human-caused tragedies, throughout the past year the American
Red Cross was there to provide communities with the help and support they needed.

2013 at a Glance
Across the country, the
American Red Cross—
• Responded to 61,109
disasters.
• Provided more than 330,000
emergency assistance
services to military members
and their families.
• Collected approximately
5.7 million units of blood from
3.3 million donors.
• And nearly 6.8 million people
learned lifesaving skills or
downloaded a preparedness
app.

Late in the hurricane season, Superstorm Sandy took aim at a part of the country not
usually targeted by tropical systems, with devastating results. Sandy made landfall near
Atlantic City, N.J., on October 29, 2012, merging with a winter storm and bringing heavy
rain, snow and floods. Thousands were left homeless, and nearly 8.5 million people lost
power across 12 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, some for weeks.
With an incredible outpouring of support from the public and partners, the Red Cross
was able to immediately launch what became our largest U.S. disaster response in more
than five years. Red Cross workers—more than 90 percent of them volunteers—opened
shelters and provided food and comfort to thousands of people as they faced their losses
and the uncertainty of starting over.
While emergency assistance continued for months, Red Cross caseworkers also began
guiding families in taking the first difficult steps toward recovery. Long-term recovery
programs continue to help several thousand residents as they put their lives back together.
Other major disasters that the Red Cross responded to last fiscal year (July 1, 2012 –
June 30, 2013) included Hurricane Isaac, which struck the Gulf Coast in August 2012,
and major floods that hit the upper Midwest in spring 2013. Wherever residents were
forced from their homes, the Red Cross provided safe shelter, food, cleanup supplies and
help taking the first steps toward recovery.
Over the past year, several tragic events affected the country, and the Red Cross was
there to support communities and first responders during those difficult times. This
included shootings in Aurora, Colo., Oak Creek, Wis., and Newtown, Conn.; the bombing
at the Boston marathon; and the explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. Red Cross
workers were on the scene in each instance to help survivors, family members and first
responders by providing relief items and emotional support during what once would have
seemed to be unimaginable circumstances.

A Red Cross volunteer on Staten Island, N.Y.,
hands a blanket to a young girl affected by
Superstorm Sandy.