The review. [volume] (High Point, N.C.) 1908-19??, 1920-11-11
WHAT WOULD YOU !.
DO IF DISASTER
HIT YOUR TOWN?
10000 Victims of Sudden Disaster.
Helped Last Year. by
Red Cross

, today in safety and happiness an
VINO no more anticipate disaster t,
morrow than they do the end of tn
world.
For no one knows when or wher
disaster will strike.
There was no warning of the Sa
Francisco earthquake and fire. On
moment the people of that mighty cit
t were bustling about their bushes.
utterly devoid Of fear or premonition
the next their entire world was tum
bling about their ears So
/ One morning two miles of the cit.
OF Atlanta, Ga, were swept by fir
in less than four hours.
! Wall street never expected a boml
explosion until it came and killed
more than thirty people and manned
scores of others in less time than i
i takes to read this paragraph.
/ Even. gathering storms and rising
floods, such as the south has known
on its coasts ana at river cities like
West Point, Ga, give scant warning
before homes are inundated and people
forced to flee for their lives.
+ To any one at any time, tornado,
fire and storm may bring peril and sui
: fering. So the question is asked
again: Il
What would your town do tomor-
row if disaster struck"
It is to provide an answer to that
question that the American Red Cross
has been in existence for years and
years. It is the recognized official
agency for disaster relief, and 1t has
lived up to it's responsibilities in a
wonderful way.
That is one reason why the Red
Cross deserves the support of every
one Oh its Fourth Roll Ca,l-to maia-
the stricken will always have help
ing hand to turn to, the American Red
Cross.
The disaster relief part of the Red
Cross organization has been so thor
oughly perfected that it can answer
calls for help in the briefest possible
time.
People of the south well remember
how promptly the Red Cross respond
ed to the need during the West Point
flood last year, the Corpus Christi
storm and several other southern dis
asters, while fresh in the. memory of
the entire country is the fact that
Red Cross doctors and nurses were
''first on the scene" at the Wall street
explosion.
In addition to furnishing such
prompt relief as this, practically ev-
cry Red Cross chapter has a per.
manent disaster relief committee,
which has made a survey Of resources !
in their respective communities and |
is prepared to act promptly with the !
means at hand when disaster occurs.
Illustrative of the genuine need for
just such preparedness as this in the
United States is the fact that, last
year alone, the Red Cross aided 3d.
O00 persons in 1874 communities, all
victims of q separate and distinct dis
asters. =
In the accomplishment of this re-
lief work 40 Red Cross chapters were
called upon to assist, the sum Of $780,
900 in cash and supplies Was expend-
ed. Thirty temporary hospitals were
called into existence, twenty-odd mo-
tor corps were organized, seven spe-
cial relief trains were sent out and
LILO special representatives and nurses
we're furnished in addition to the aid
given by the local Red Cross workers
n the community visited by disaster.
In these 70 disasters, including 10
ornadoes and cyclones, 2 hurricanes,
. cloud bursts, hail storm; earth
luakes, 1 landslide, Is fires, expko- !
zion, floods, 10 shipwrecks, train 1
wreck, a riots, motor accident and
. droughts-850 persons were killed,
800 were injured, 1900 (approxf-
mately) were rendered homeless i
While property valued at $5,0OO.0OO was 1
destroyed.
The largest and most destructivei
disaster of the year was at Corpus
Jhristi, Texas, in September, 1919.
approximately 400 were killed and f.. I
90 made homeless. The Red Cross t
ivision director with staff of 35
administered fund of $500. +
90, giving aid to $500 families and t
our towns and rural districts and suf- b
lcient supplies to each family to en-. s
BILE it to stand on it's feet. n
Because of tornadoes, the Gulf and b
AXE Divisions were called upon to e
and emergency relief with trained a
1orkers to nearly 80 communities. The d
wo droughts in Montana and North il
'akota gave abundant opportunity foI o
rained workers from the Northern Dbl e
isioH to help the Red Cross chapters Il
their usefulness, while Il
umber Of shipwrecks proved the read, h
less OF the Atlantic Division and the d
lew York Metropolitan Area Commit b
se to assist in that line of work. g
The record OF last year emphasizes 6
he need OF abundant preparedness q
long the line of disaster relief, and 8
az resulted in the organization OF D
disaster Preparedness Committees by u
bout 400 chapters and the setting IL
side of a special emergency fund by