Finding Loved Ones

March 4, 2007
Christi Harlan
American Red Cross

ENTERPRISE, Ala. — With power outages and downed phone lines, people in Enterprise are still looking for loved ones three days after the March 1 tornado, but they are finding help with donated cell phones and the Web site of the American Red Cross.

A 78-year-old woman whose home was destroyed spent three nights in the Red Cross shelter at the First Baptist Church of Enterprise, thinking she had no family to assist her. With a cell phone donated by Unicel, the Coffee County Red Cross Chapter was able to reach the woman’s daughter — a daughter she hadn’t seen in 30 years, according to Elaine Roberts, Disaster Director of Operations for the Coffee County chapter.

“We’ve heard that some areas may go a month without telephone service, so these donated cell phones will be invaluable,” Roberts said.

Separately, the Red Cross can help reunite family members and loved ones through registration on Safe and Well, available at www.redcross.org. On the Web site, people who want to let their loved ones know that they are safe and well can choose from a list of standard messages to inform family members of their well-being.

People who are seeking loved ones can search the list of those who have registered themselves as “safe and well.” The results of a successful search will display a loved one’s First Name, Last Name, an “As of Date”, and the “safe and well” messages selected.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of these tornadoes and thousands of disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.