From: m35products (m35prod@optonline.net)
Date: Fri Sep 02 2005 - 12:19:32 PDT
The following message is from Joseph Becker, Senior Vice President,
>Preparedness and Response:
>
>Continuous television coverage of the desperate situation inside the city
>of New Orleans is prompting the media and others to ask why the Red Cross
>is not present. Please use the following information to respond.
>Additional Q&A will be posted to CrossNet shortly.
>
>Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans?
>. Access to New Orleans is controlled by the National
>Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them,
>we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders.
>. The state Homeland Security Department had
>requested--and continues to request--that the American Red Cross not come
>back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep
>people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city.
>. The Red Cross has been meeting the needs of thousands of
>New Orleans residents in some 90 shelters throughout the state of Louisiana
>and elsewhere since before landfall. All told, the Red Cross is today
>operating 149 shelters for almost 93,000 residents.
>. The Red Cross shares the nation's anguish over the
>worsening situation inside the city. We will continue to work under the
>direction of the military, state and local authorities and to focus all our
>efforts on our lifesaving mission of feeding and sheltering.
>. The Red Cross does not conduct search and rescue
>operations. We are an organization of civilian volunteers and cannot get
>relief aid into any location until the local authorities say it is safe and
>provide us with security and access.
>. The original plan was to evacuate all the residents of
>New Orleans to safe places outside the city. With the hurricane bearing
>down, the city government decided to open a shelter of last resort in the
>Superdome downtown. We applaud this decision and believe it saved a
>significant number of lives.
>. As the remaining people are evacuated from New Orleans,
>the most appropriate role for the Red Cross is to provide a safe place for
>people to stay and to see that their emergency needs are met. We are fully
>staffed and equipped to handle these individuals once they are evacuated.
>
>
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