The Mapping of a Disaster

David Hall is a 12-year veteran volunteer with the American Red Cross, and through his particular knowledge of maps and expertise in computer programming, he has worked himself into his self- described dream job - mapping disaster sites as a member of the Red Cross’s Disaster Services Geospatial Technology Unit.

David is affiliated with the Kentucky Region Bluegrass Area Chapter and serves on the Daniel Boone Community Red Cross Board. He has been a “map geek” from a young age, and at his Madison County, Kentucky high school, began taking computer programming classes. He continued to explore mapmaking and computer science at Eastern Kentucky University, and fortuitously some of his classes familiarized him with the software that the Red Cross uses for their mapping. It’s called ArcGIS.

David’s first disaster deployment with the Red Cross was to Hurricane Matthew, which occurred in Fall 2016 and left a wake of destruction from the Caribbean through the Southeast US coastal states. As an example, FEMA is usually first on the scene. They gather a lot of the initial data about where and to what extent the damage is concentrated. They do this partially by heat sensor mapping, to show the epicenters of the damaged areas (in Matthew’s case, multiple epicenters).

When the Red Cross hits the ground, thousands of volunteers working from this initial FEMA data literally go address-to-address to assess the damaged areas. The Red Crossers are evaluating in terms of help needed and/or level of destruction. (In North Carolina alone, 2,174 volunteers were out assessing after Hurricane Matthew!) This information is then fed into a computer to create an Excel spreadsheet. David and team then take the street addresses and geocode them to get the actual coordinates, longitude and latitude, for each address. From this he creates a cleaner spreadsheet with the geocodes, along with more specifics such as Red Cross contacts and phone numbers, specific needs, etc.

With addresses geocoded, the software is able to create a damage assessment map - everything feeds off this map, and from here David begins layering on information; shelter locations, supply inventory locations, specific city transportation maps and much more, can be overlaid onto the original damage assessment map to provide more specifics to assist relief workers in helping victims in a more timely and effectual manner. David confides, before ArcGIS, a lot was left up to guesswork.

David considers mapmaking as much art as science, which speaks to his love for the endeavor. The Red Cross has been utilizing the software since before Hurricane Katrina, but David feels there is plenty of room for improvement, and he is excited about helping to hone ArcGIS’s capabilities to anticipate a disaster’s damage and cut response time down even further.

If you would like to find out more about joining the Red Cross as a volunteer, please visit www.redcross.org/volunteer

Red Cross Uniforms in WWI

"The wearing of any of these uniforms is to be a mark of service to the Red Cross; the privilege of wearing them is to be carefully guarded," announced the National Headquarters of the American Red Cross in 1917.

After the declaration of World War I, the outpouring of volunteerism in the U.S. was at an all time high. Proud Americans were eager to do whatever they could to help the war effort, women especially. The women who volunteered for the Red Cross took part in everything from canteen work and fundraising to knitting garments to send to soldiers overseas.

Women wanted to wear a uniform while doing “war work”, but due to regulations and possible confusion, the volunteers could not wear the nurse's uniforms that were already being given out to women. So, in the fall of 1917, the American Red Cross announced they were granting new uniforms to women volunteers. To keep a clear distinction between the nurses and other specialized volunteers, four new uniforms were issued to women working as Corps members.

Uniforms from left to right: Supply Corps, Clerical Corps, Refreshment Corps, and Motor Corps.

The first uniform was for the women working in Supply Corps. These volunteers were in a division of the Red Cross that was in charge of preparing surgical dressings, hospital garments, and other supplies. They donned a white dress, with dark blue veil, white shoes, and a dark blue armband with a “horn of plenty” embroidered on it.

Another uniform that was introduced was for the Clerical Corps. These volunteers were responsible for the clerical work in active Red Cross chapters, like bookkeeping and video stenography. Clerical workers wore a solid gray dress with a broad white collar, a white duck hat, and white shoes. The arm band they wore was yellow with two crossed quill pens.

The next uniform was for women working in the Refreshment Corps. This division was dedicated to feeding soldiers en route to hospital or troop movement, and also making lunches for soldiers in nearby camps. Refreshment Corps uniforms consisted of dark blue and white striped dress, long white apron, white duck helmet with a dark blue veil and tan shoes. The Red Cross emblem was on the apron and helmet.

The fourth division of volunteers to receive uniforms were the women in the Motor Corps. This service included all of the motor drivers required for chapter work. The uniforms worn were made up of a long gray coat with a tan leather belt, a close fitting leather hat, riding breeches, canvas leggings, and tan shoes. Motor Corps wore a light green arm band and displayed the Red Cross emblem proudly on their hats.

Meet Red Cross Volunteer, Rose Ella Smith

Rose Ella Smith started volunteering for the Bluegrass Chapter of the Kentucky Red Cross after losing her husband of 57 years in June of 2015. As one can imagine, after raising five children and working in several factories for over 20 years, all the while caring for her ailing husband whose health issues spanned decades, Rose was lost. At 79, after a lifetime of working and taking care of others, she quickly realized she was not the type to sit back and finally enjoy some “me time”. No, not for Rose; she is a doer and a giver! One of her daughters suggested that she look into volunteering for the Red Cross. She did, and Rose found a new life.

 

She began by volunteering with the Home Fire Campaign which provides and installs free smoke alarms for those in need. She and another volunteer began traveling around the state and found she enjoyed the travel and being of service to the community.

Her next assignment was to help firefighters who were battling wildfires in Eastern Kentucky. She worked with a team that provided breakfast, packed a sack lunch for the field, and served them a hot supper at the end of the day. She and the team also provided clean towels, bedding and toiletries for the shelter where the firefighters were temporarily housed. She enjoyed this assignment even more because by helping folks through a disaster, she could feel she was making a real difference. Rose is on standby at the moment to return to Eastern Kentucky where the fires are still not contained. Should these fires impact families and their homes, she will begin helping families who have been displaced by these fires - setting up shelters and providing food and amenities for them. She is eager for the opportunity.

Talking to Rose, one can feel her enthusiasm for helping others, and the joy that it brings her. In the Red Cross where there are endless opportunities to turn one’s compassion into action, Rose feels she has found a new purpose.

You inspire us, Rose! Thank you for your service to the Red Cross.

If you would like to find out more about joining the Red Cross as a volunteer, please visit www.redcross.org/volunteer

Kentucky Region CEO Returns from North Carolina

The following post was written by Jennifer Adrio, CEO of the Kentucky Region Red Cross, as part of an update of her deployment. Jennifer deployed to North Carolina as part of relief efforts for Hurricane Matthew.

I've arrived home in Kentucky after spending two weeks on the Hurricane Matthew disaster response. It's great to be back.

I was stationed in North Carolina and a majority of my time I worked out of the Ft. Bragg operations center, serving Robeson County, NC and surrounding areas. This is the poorest county in the state which had many challenges before the hurricane and horrific flooding. Upon arrival, there were 5 shelters opened with around 600 people.

Home in the process of being cleaned out.

When I left last week, 2 shelters were still open, serving approximately 150 residents. Casework had ramped up and our teams were visiting with folks to provide assistance beyond FEMA, if needed. We were still serving thousands of meals a day through our Emergency Response Vehicles and at distribution sites throughout the community. In addition, we were delivering clean up supplies to residents to help them begin mucking out their homes. Clean and safe water had begun to come back on in Lumberton at the end of last week, nearly 3 weeks after the storms passed through.

The two words that come to mind about this experience are hope and resiliency. The resiliency shown by the residents and the community was unbelievable. These folks had lost everything in some cases, but they remained positive and were working toward moving on with their lives, while supporting each other through the process.

Mother and daughter team, from Texas.

Our Red Cross "army" of over 500 volunteers in my area alone, did everything from sleeping on cots in shelters with dozens of other people so they can work in a shelter, 12 hours a day for two weeks straight. Other Red Crossers drove Emergency Response Vehicles from across the United States, so they could help serve meals and hope to people they had never met.

This was and continues to be a huge relief operation. You can't imagine what it's like to see firsthand an operation like this up and functioning in a few hours, operating 24/7 all over the state of North Carolina, run by people who have never met nor worked together prior to this, coming from all walks of life. Talk about diversity and inclusion... the Red Cross lives it.

 The Weather Channel visited the shelter at
Robeson County fairgrounds with a therapy dog.

My role was to serve as an elected official liaison... working with mayors, city council members, county leaders and community stalwarts to maintain the Red Cross image, and more importantly, to listen and serve as someone who could assist their communities and constituents through the Red Cross. I was very proud of our organization.

Kentucky Region CEO Updates on Response in North Carolina

The following post was written by Jennifer Adrio, CEO of the Kentucky Region Red Cross, as part of an update of her deployment. Jennifer deployed to North Carolina last weekend as part of relief efforts for Hurricane Matthew.

Today marks day five for me on the ground in North Carolina.  I drive every day to Robeson County as well as another eight counties which were heavily impacted by Hurricane Matthew. 

Upon arrival on Monday in Robeson County, we had close to 1,000 people staying in five shelters.  This area continues to be challenging for many individuals and families, as the flooding in this area has resulted in complete devastation. Nearly three weeks since the storms have passed, many remain unable to get to their homes due to high waters persisting, significant mold and damage which many homes cannot be salvaged; and in some instances, having alligators in their yards. 

Today we consolidated to two shelters which are hosting around 300 people.  Schools will resume on Monday.  But, the recovery phase still has a long way to go. 

From left to right: Jennifer, Elmer, Lori, and Bobby

I've seen our emergency response vehicles (from California, Oregon and even our own from Kentucky) at every turn, feeding and assisting people multiple times a day.  I've met volunteers from Hawaii, Tennessee, West Virginia and New York.  This is Red Cross voluntarism at its finest!  Most volunteers are sleeping in staff shelters on cots.  Amazing heart and dedication!  The attached photo is of Red Cross volunteers who are helping manage a shelter. Elmer is from New Jersey and Lori and Bobby are from Texas.

My main role is working with local elected officials to ensure we are meeting community needs, listening and responding.  At the end of the day, it's about the people who need help and how all of us - Red Cross, local government, and countless other partner groups - can and need to work together to make a difference and help people get back on their feet.

This weekend, we will be assisting people as they begin to clean up their homes, find their belongings and offer hope through assistance. 

Click here to learn more about Red Cross disaster relief. If you would like to find out more about joining the Red Cross as a volunteer, please visit redcross.org/volunteer