Urban Search and Rescue Team, California Task Force 7 has been activated and will be leaving for Haiti.

 The request for CTF7 and five other USAR Teams from the United States will be joining the Search and Rescue efforts on the island nation.

This activation is being requested from the Office of Foreign Disaster Relief and the State Department. 72 members from the Sacramento Region will be enroute to Travis Air Force Base for transport to Haiti. They will be leaving the USAR Cache by 3:30 a.m.

Information provided by Captain Jim Doucette of Sacramento Fire.

 

How can you help? (Information provided by the Sacramento-Sierra Red Cross)

The American Red Cross is sending money, supplies and staff to Haiti to support relief efforts there after the recent earthquake, which caused catastrophic damage and loss of life.

According to reports, as many as three million people may have been affected by the quake, which collapsed government buildings and caused major damage to hospitals in the area.

On a national level, the Red Cross is contributing an initial $1 million from the International Response Fund to support the relief operation, and has opened its warehouse in Panama to provide tarps, mosquito nets and cooking sets for approximately 5,000 families.

In addition to Red Cross staff already in Haiti, six disaster management specialists from National Headquarters are being deployed to the disaster zone to help coordinate relief efforts. At this time, the American Red Cross is only deploying volunteers specially trained to manage international emergency operations, with the first wave of volunteers coming from Red Cross chapters closest to Haiti. However, the Red Cross is always looking for volunteers on a local level and anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can contact the Sacramento Sierra Chapter at 916-993-7070.

 There has been an outpouring of support from the public. To help, people can make an unrestricted donation to the International Response Fund at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767). The public can also help by texting “Haiti” to 90999 to send a $10 donation to the Red Cross, through an effort supported by the U.S. State Department. Funds will go to assist American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.