Cincinnati Red Cross heads for Houston. From left are Red Cross Chief Chapter Services Officer Elvia Price; Lyn Walraven, Red Cross volunteer who is driving the Emergency Response Vehicle to Louisiana; and Kayla Iheukwu of the Red Cross Disaster Workforce. Photo by Skip Tate
The Cincinnati Chapter of the American Red Cross responded to victims of Hurricane Harvey in the Houston, Texas, area. Wednesday morning by sending its Emergency Response Vehicle, which was loaded with bottled water and snacks. With its deployment, more than half of the Red Cross’ emergency response fleet nationally – 200 Emergency Response Vehicles – have been activated for the operation.
- Skip Tate, Red Cross regional communications and marketing director, said preliminary FEMA estimates indicate as many as 67,000 homes in Texas may be damaged.
- NOAA has stated that this is unlike anything they have seen before. The area of Texas that’s underwater is comparable to the size of Lake Michigan.
- Preliminary estimates indicate that at least 17,000 people sought refuge in more than 45 shelters across Texas Monday night. This includes at least 8,000 evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Shelters are also open in Louisiana as the storm moves in to the area.
- Along with its partners, the Red Cross has served nearly 30,000 meals and snacks since the storm began.
- More than 80 tractor-trailer loads of cots, blankets, ready-to-eat meals, comfort kits, kitchen supplies and cleaning supplies are now on the ground in Texas. This includes supplies to support six kitchens, each able to produce 10,000 meals a day. About 73,000 ready-to-eat meals are currently on the ground with an additional 43,000 on the way.