AMERICAN RED CROSS SHELTERS CONTINUE TO WELCOME MORE GUESTS

MINOT, North Dakota, June 25, 2011 – The American Red Cross provided shelter to 268 people on Friday, June 24. Shelters are currently open at the Minot Auditorium, the Minot State University Dome and the Turtle Lake Community Center. The Turtle Lake shelter opened at noon today. The American Red Cross is prepared to open two more shelters in Minot if requested by emergency management officials.

The American Red Cross shelter was opened in Turtle Lake in response to the evacuation of Velva, North Dakota. Citizens of Velva are unable to access shelters in Minot because of flooding.

Forty American Red Cross volunteers from across the country are arriving Saturday and Sunday to support relief efforts in Minot. Incoming equipment includes an Emergency Communications Response Vehicle that has a satellite communications system to augment the communications capacity of Red Cross activities. Seven emergency response vehicles are arriving to support meal and snack distribution to the people displaced by the flood.

Safe and Well Website Registration: All flood evacuees are encouraged to register with Safe and Well, the American Red Cross website that enables people within a disaster area to let their friends and loved ones outside of the affected region know of their well-being. By logging onto the Red Cross public website, www.redcross.org/safeandwell, a person affected by disaster may post messages indicating that they are safe and well at a shelter, hotel, or at home, and that they will contact their friends and family as soon as possible. For those without access to the internet, call 1-800-REDCROSS and someone will help you register.

People who are concerned about family members in an affected area may also access the Safe and Well website to view these messages. They will be required to enter either the name and telephone number, or the name and complete address, of the person about whom they wish to get information. The information on the Safe and Well website is secure and that information about the locations where people are staying is not published. Privacy laws require the Red Cross to protect each person’s right to determine how best to communicate their contact information and whereabouts to family members. The Red Cross does not actively trace or attempt to locate individuals registered on the Safe and Well website.