Photo Essays

Tsunami Relief The American Red Cross continues to work with its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners to get basic living supplies into the hands of people displaced by the tsunami, even as survivors are cleaning up their devastated communities and beginning to put their lives back together. Sri Lankan Red Cross volunteers handed out water containers, family hygiene supplies, kitchen kits, tarps and blankets to more than 650 families in three evacuation camps along the south coast of the island Photos by Bob Howard, American Red Cross  more... In total, the American Red Cross allotted $20 million for immediate family supplies. The American Red Cross ensures that these supplies are appropriate to the climate, the culture, and the specifics of each disaster situation.  more...

Red Cross Hurricane Relief The onslaught began with the Aug. 13 arrival of ferocious Hurricane Charley along the southeast Florida coast. Over the next six weeks, climactic chaos ensued, as three more storms carved intertwining paths of destruction across Florida and the Gulf Coast and drenched inland states with record amounts of rainfall. But even as the first hurricane spiraled toward land, the American Red Cross went into action, launching sweeping readiness and relief efforts that are still ongoing today. More than 32,000 Red Cross volunteers from throughout the nation opened 139 shelters during the 2004 hurricane season, and an astounding 11 million meals were served to disaster victims in the largest natural disaster response in the organization’s history. Photos by Bonnie Gillespie, American Red Cross  more...

Measles Vaccination Program in the Republic of Madagascar The Measles Initiative is a five year commitment to eliminate measles in Africa by vaccinating 200 million children, saving 1.2 million lives. The partnership was created in 2001 and as of June 2004 has vaccinated 120 million children. Here are some photos of the measles vaccination program in the Republic of Madagascar. --Photos by Carolyn Taylor Brown, American Red Cross  more...

Vietnam Nutrition and Education Initiative About half of elementary school children in Vietnam are malnourished. Providing food in school to students every day as well as take-tome food rations to families of students act as incentives for children to attend school. The take-home ration, while also nutritious, helps offset families’ financial expenditures on food.  more...

Malawi Food Program The American Red Cross has been helping the Malawi Red Cross to implement food programs for vulnerable groups since the spring of 2002 after two years of consecutive drought resulted in a severe food shortage.  more...

Hurricane Charley Charley’s winds carved a swath of destruction hundreds of miles long, sheering roof from homes and littering roadways with toppled signs and debris. Red Cross volunteers visited with hurricane victims within hours of the disaster striking, assuring them that the Red Cross was on hand to help. Photos by Bonnie Gillespie, American Red Cross  more...

New Jersey Flooding They called it a thousand-year storm. According to weather experts, only once a millennium does more than 13 inches of rain fall in less than a 12 hour period. And that’s what happened in south-central New Jersey on July 12th. When the rains finally abated, 12 dams had burst, almost 400 homes were damaged by floodwaters, and thousands were left with the struggle to clean up and recover. But more than 200 American Red Cross volunteers took part in a massive disaster relief effort to help flood victims, serving more than 16,000 meals and snacks and distributing 500 clean-up kits throughout the affected area. Red Cross workers remain active in the region, assisting residents with their long-term recovery needs. Photos by Bonnie Gillespie, American Red Cross  more...

Illinois Flooding Weeks of steady rainfall and severe storms in the Chicago suburbs sent the Des Plaines River surging over its embankments in late May. Despite sandbagging efforts in communities along the floodplain, many homes still suffered irreparable damage, and hundreds of Illinois families looked to the Red Cross for help. Scores of volunteers from Illinois and beyond worked for weeks to bring food, water, clean-up kits and much-needed emergency supplies to flood victims as the waters began to subside. Photography by Bonnie Gillespie, American Red Cross  more...

Nebraska Tornado Relief On May 22, a massive F4 tornado roared through the tiny town of Hallam, Neb.. With winds peaking at 210 mph, the twister leveled more than 160 homes and damaged hundreds more. Virtually every structure in the community of 300 was affected, one person died and dozens more were injured by the violent tornado that carved a path of destruction 52 miles long and 2.5 miles wide across southeast Nebraska. Photography by Bonnie Gillespie, American Red Cross  more...

Red Cross Volunteers at the 2004 National Convention Red Cross Volunteers were honored during the 2004 American Red Cross National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri.  more...

Red Cross Nurses Are Everywhere National Nurses Week - May 6 - 12, 2004  more...

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