Red Cross Moving Supplies and Workers to South Texas as Hurricane Alex Nears the Coast

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Jun 30, 2010, 12:54 ET

Flooding a big concern in the Rio Grande Delta

WASHINGTON, June 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As Hurricane Alex churns through the Gulf of Mexico toward south Texas and Mexico, the American Red Cross is positioning workers, shelter and feeding equipment and emergency vehicles in Texas.

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The storm is bringing strong winds and torrential rain to the area, and coastal residents are being evacuated, as well as crews on oil rigs and platforms in the area. An additional concern is that the Rio Grande delta region is prone to flood during heavy rain.

"We could see significant flooding from this storm, forcing people to stay in our shelters for longer periods," said Joe Becker, senior vice president for Red Cross Disaster Services. "People should take any evacuation orders seriously and leave when told to do so."

The American Red Cross is supporting 20 shelters for those who may have to evacuate and has sent in 2,000 cots, blankets, and kits containing personal hygiene items such as deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste, wash cloths, shampoo, razors and shaving cream. As many as 17 Emergency Response Vehicles have been deployed to the area, and eight additional vehicles and crews are on stand-by. Kitchen equipment is also on the way from the Red Cross warehouse in San Antonio.

American Red Cross services are available to anyone in need in the affected areas in Texas. During a crisis, human beings need help to stay safe and sustain life, no matter what their nationality, cultural background or citizenship status and the American Red Cross will feed, shelter, provide emotional support and other assistance without regard to race, religion or citizenship status.

Additionally, the American Red Cross is in close contact with the Mexican Red Cross and is prepared to send support if requested to help people in Mexico who are impacted by Hurricane Alex. The Mexican Red Cross is ready with relief supplies for as many as 20,000 people.

The Red Cross pre-positions supplies near disaster prone areas to speed up the time it takes to respond to storms like Hurricane Alex, and the ability to respond quickly due to the financial support in advance of disasters by companies and organizations that are members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP). Members of the ADGP program are Altria Group, American Express, AXA Foundation, Cisco Foundation, ConAgra Foods, Darden Restaurants, Inc., FedEx Corporation, GE Foundation, General Motors Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation, John Deere Foundation, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Lowe's Companies, Inc., Merck, Morgan Stanley, Nationwide Insurance Foundation, Ryder Charitable Foundation, State Farm, State Street Foundation, Target, The TJX Companies, Inc., UnitedHealthcare and UPS.

If you would like to help people affected by Hurricane Alex, and thousands of disasters across the country and around the world, you can donate to Red Cross Disaster Response by visiting www.redcross.org or calling 1-800-RedCross. People can also text "RedCross" to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for disasters and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to victims of all disasters. Contributions may also be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

SOURCE American Red Cross