The Round-up offers a weekly sample of what our sister Red Cross Societies are working on around the world.
VIETNAM: With the experience of enduring continuous disasters year after year, the Red Cross Societies of the Philippines and Viet Nam instinctively know how to prepare for the worst. This time, it was for Typhoon Son Tinh. Both Red Cross Societies took effective measures to protect communities before the storm hit each country on October 25 and 28. Monitoring the situation closely, the Philippine and Viet Nam Red Cross Societies put emergency response units and specialized Red Cross volunteers on standby.
LIBYA: The humanitarian situation remains difficult for the people of Bani Walid in Libya. To help those who fled the city after heavy clashes this week, the ICRC is working with the Libyan Red Crescent to distribute food, drinking water, medicine and other essential items to more than 10,000 people in the nearby cities of Tarhuna and Orban.
UNITED STATES: The American Red Cross is continuing a major relief operation to assist people affected by the hurricane which has recently passed through the Caribbean before hitting the eastern seaboard of the US. The American Red Cross has mobilized 1,700 disaster workers from all over the country who have served more than 25,000 meals and snacks so far. Over 165 response vehicles have been activated and shipped in more than 230,000 ready-to-eat meals. At the request of the American Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross will be deploying 10 volunteers to support shelter operations in New York.
GLOSSARY:
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross