Red Cross Helps Arkansas Tornado Survivors With Shelter, Food and Relief Supplies

As severe weather threat continues, people should prepare and use free app alerts

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Apr 28, 2014, 11:39 ET

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Red Cross is helping people in Arkansas and several other states affected by Sunday's devastating tornadoes.

More than 200 people spent Sunday night in shelters in Arkansas that were opened or supported by Red Cross workers. The Red Cross is also providing health and mental health services and Red Cross emergency vehicles will be distributing food throughout the affected areas.

"Our thoughts and sympathy are with all those impacted by these horrific tornadoes," said Richard Reed, senior vice president, Disaster Cycle Services for the Red Cross. "Red Cross disaster teams are helping now and will continue to help for weeks to come."

RED CROSS SENDS BLOOD The Red Cross provided several units of type O negative blood to two hospitals in Arkansas before the storm and supplied 40 units of plasma this morning to help treat those who were injured. The hospitals say they have a sufficient blood supply to handle the situation at this point. The Red Cross stands ready to assist with any additional blood needs. Anyone interested in donating blood should call 1-800-RED CROSS or your local blood bank to schedule an appointment in the weeks ahead.

The Red Cross also has shelters open in Oklahoma and is responding in northern Louisiana where flooding occurred after yesterday's storms. Shelter and services also are being provided in North Carolina, which was hit Friday night by tornadoes.

SEVERE WEATHER NOT OVER The chance of severe storms is moving eastward today and could impact people in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Red Cross chapters in those areas are preparing to respond by readying shelters, supplies and volunteers.

DOWNLOAD TORNADO APP People should download the Red Cross tornado app onto their mobile devices. They can use the app's "I'm Safe" button to let loved ones know they are okay and find the location of Red Cross shelters. The app also includes a high-pitched siren and warning alert that signals when a tornado warning has been issued, as well as also an all-clear alert that lets users know when a tornado warning has expired or has been cancelled. The Red Cross sent out 2.1 million severe weather notifications over the weekend through its tornado app for tornado and thunderstorm watches and warnings.

If someone needs to find a shelter, they can contact their local Red Cross chapter or access the Red Cross shelter map which is updated every 30 minutes with shelter locations by address, city, state and/or zip code.

HOW TO HELP Those who would like to help people affected by disasters like tornadoes, floods and other crises can make a donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. People can donate by visiting www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. These donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.

About the Annual Disaster Giving Program:
The Red Cross is able to respond immediately to help those affected by this and other disasters through the support of the corporate members of the Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP). Their generous investments enable the Red Cross to be ready to provide assistance whenever and wherever disasters occur. ADGP members include:

3M; Altria Group; American Express; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Aon; AT&T; Bank of America; BNY Mellon; Caterpillar Inc.; CHS Foundation; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Community Safety Foundation, funded by CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer; ConAgra Foods Foundation; Costco Wholesale Corporation; Darden Restaurants Foundation; Dell Inc.; Discover; Disney; Dr Pepper Snapple Group; eBay Inc.; Edison International; FedEx Corporation; GE Foundation; Grainger; H-E-B; Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation; The Home Depot Foundation; Humble Bundle; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; Kraft Foods Group Foundation; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Medtronic; Meijer; Merck & Co., Inc.; Mondelēz International Foundation; National Grid; Nationwide Insurance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Corporation; PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation; Samsung; Southwest Airlines; Sprint; State Farm; Target; TD Ameritrade; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United; United Technologies Corporation; University of Phoenix; UPS; US Airways; VSP℠ Vision care for life; Walmart; WellPoint Foundation and Wells Fargo.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

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SOURCE American Red Cross