I found out last night (in the process of picking up my wife's and my 15 year pins) that the Cleveland Red Cross chapter has shelter contracts with 125 locations for what are referred to as Mass Care Shelters. Among those there are only SIX generators available capable of providing heat for shelters.

The broadcast message (if there are broadcast facilities) will be for the people of the Cleveland area to shelter in place. This is NOT good news for un-prepped Morth Coasters.

In addition, National has told ALL chapters that the standard ARC 72 hour requirement has been abrogated. Chapters will be responsible for MUCH longer than 72 hours as there will be no help coming from outside. [The departure here is that in the past, in other disasters, National Red Cross takes control of the response with staff, materiel, etc. after 72 hours. This has been abrogated by National ARC for the Y2K events whatever they may be. FEMA has ALSO said that they will not be available to relieve the local response groups.]

Got Firewood?

Got Kero??

Got Gas??

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), December 16, 1999

Answers

Thank you, Chuck. I'll be sure to pass the word along where I can. Too bad no media in the Cleveland area cares to make the population aware of this situation.

-- cmd0903 (cmd0903@dontcall.com), December 16, 1999.

Sounds like Hudson Bay and Whitney (wool blanket making companies) could stand to make a large profit this winter.

(I wonder if they'd donate a few million blankets to charity?)

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), December 16, 1999.

So Chuck, if I hear you correctly, local ARC chapters usually prepare for 72 hours with the expectation that if more than 72 hours of assistance is needed then other ARC chapters will be directed by the National ARC to chip in and help out? So perhaps all ARC chapters are prepared for max 72 hours, and will be waiting for the agency backup that never comes in y2k (I say max, cause many don't have basics like heat)?

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 16, 1999.

Hokie,

that is Precisely the point. the charter to EVERY local Red Cross Chapter is to be able to handle at least a Level I Non-recurring Disaster op on their own and to be able to handle the first 72 hours of anything greater. (the Levels are determined by the amount spent by ARC and run from Level I at up to about 5 Kilobucks, to Level II at up to about 50 kilobucks, up to Level V at over a mill and a half).

Some, like Cleveland, considered to be Large Chapters are expected to be able to handle Level II's without aid. Beyond the 72 hour mark, the expectation is that National shows up with a trailer full of paperwork and another one full of supplies along with people from the National Disasater Reserves (ARC Retained-employees, employed/paid staff, and volunteers) and volunteers from the State and National levels.

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), December 16, 1999.

Chuck,

I haven't had time to verify this rumor for myself, but I've heard that "sheltering in place" will be the standard operating procedure for all of the major Ohio cities: what shelters there are will be reserved for the infirm, elderly, and homeless, which sounds reasonable to me, given what was done during the horrible storm last January.

A Doomer National Guard Reservist I know says that those who are likely to riot (the near east side in Columbus -- HIS WORDS!)will be moved to the National Guard "Camp" for their own "safety." This is merely chit-chat, and I pass it on as such.

-- (ladybuckeye_59@yahoo.com), December 16, 1999.

I suspect you may be close. the person I was talking to was a Health Services person who has participated in a number of table tops etc but isn't involved in the actual planning, beyond having the required first aid teams available for the DHS Nurses, in the shelters. this is one time I think that the doctrine of "It's OK to have the nurse "on Call" instead of on the premises" may not fly...

Chuck

BTW Ladybuckeye, drop me an e. (and any body else in OH who wants to be known to me. If you want to be on a small e-mail list I can set one of them up too) I'm TRYING to collect a small list of folk in the area (and I stretch that to include the Cow Town and environs, and out to Toodle-eee-do, and east to the PA border).

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), December 16, 1999.

Chuck,

Please put me on your list - Central Ohio, just north of Columbus.

Thanks! (My e-mail addy is real.)

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), December 16, 1999.

News and Observer (Raleigh)

Nov 25 1998: Crises take toll on Red Cross Source:

Mother Nature showed her wrath like never before in 1998, making this year the costliest for disaster relief across the nation, American Red Cross officials said Tuesday.

The Red Cross spent nearly $162 million in 239 disaster relief operations in 42 states and Puerto Rico as of Nov. 17, officials said.

Florida topped the disaster charts, requiring the national Red Cross to aid 52 local chapters in the state in 21 disaster relief operations.

Also in double digits were Texas (19 disasters), New York (14) and California (13).

"1998 is going off the top of the scale for major disaster operations," said John Clizbe, vice president for disaster services at the Red Cross.

In the past three months alone, more than 30,000 workers and volunteers have responded to 11 major disasters that occurred almost simultaneously, including Hurricane Georges, which pummeled seven states and Puerto Rico.

The Red Cross spent more than $100 million on disaster relief from the damage caused by Hurricane Georges, officials said.

The year also was among the worst for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which had responded to 66 presidential disaster declarations as of Sept. 30.

The worst year recorded by FEMA was 1994 when the Northridge Quake struck California. That disaster alone cost $6.3 billion, spokeswoman Mary Margaret Walker said.

This year FEMA's disaster costs so far are $1.94 billion, Walker said.

For the Red Cross to do its work this year, it used $80 million it had raised from various sources throughout the year and almost entirely depleted its additional disaster relief fund, which contained an additional $80 million.

The organization nearly has completed a $50 million campaign to replace the depleted funds and prepare for next year's disasters, Clizbe said.

"We probably need to raise another $50 million in the next six months to be back to the stage we would like to be," he said.

Disasters are becoming more expensive to respond to in general because more people keep migrating toward coastal areas, Clizbe said - "We choose to live in the most disaster-prone areas."

FEMA is trying to reverse that pattern. Its subsidized flood insurance program is becoming stricter in which homes it will cover. FEMA is in the process of excluding 35,000 properties from the national flood insurance program because two or more disaster claims have been made on them that are equal to or surpass the value of the property.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), December 16, 1999.

Chuck, Please add me to your list if you don't think Cincinnati is too far away.

Thanks!

-- FOX (ardrinc@aol.com), December 16, 1999.

Chuck,

Please add me to your e-mail list. I moved from Cleve 2 years ago but my son and 3 sisters are still there. Thay do not have computers and your e-mail would help keep me informed as to conditions. Thank you.

-- Mr. Pinochle (pinochledd@aol.com), December 16, 1999.