The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1920-11-24
WHAT WOULD YOU
Do IF DISASTER
HIT YOUR town?
10000 Victims of Sudden Disasters
Helped Last Year by
Red Cross


souav in safety and happiness and
xiIo no more anticipate disaster to-
morrow than they do the end OF the
world.
For no one knows when or where
disaster will strike.
--.:.::cre was no warning Of the San
francisco earthquake and fire. One
moment the people Of that mighty city
aere bustling about Their business,
utterly devoid of fear or prenonltlon;
The next their entire world v;as tum-
bling about their ears.
One morning two miles of the city
NJ Atlanta, Ca. were swept by tire
In less than four hours.
Wall street never expected a bomb
explosion until 1t came and killed
more than thirty people and manned
scores of others in less time than it
takes to read this paragraph.
Even gathering storms and rising
floods, such as the south has known
On its coasts and at river cities like
West Point, Ca, give scant warming
before homes are inundated and people
forced to flee for their lives.
To any one at any time. tornado,
tre and storm may bring peril and suf
6ering. So the question is asked
again:
What would your town do tomor-
row If disaster struck"
1t 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 it has
lived up to its responsibilities in a
wonderful way.
That Is one reason why the Red
Cross deserves the support Of every.
one Oh It's Fourth Roll Ca:l-to main.
tain 1t so that, when disaster strikes
the stricken will always have a help
ing hand to turn to, the American Red
Cross.
The disaster relief part of the Red
Cross organization has been 80 thor
oughly perfected that it can answer
calls for help In the briefest possible
time.
People of the south we'll 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
ssters, while fresh in the memory Vf
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-
ranent disaster relief committee,
which has made survey of resources
IN their respective communities and
. prepared to act promptly with the
means at hand when disaster occcrl.
Illustrative of the genuine need for
Inst such preparedness as this In the
United States is the fact that. last
year alone, the Red Cross aided 3d.
GOO persons in 1s4 communities. all
victims Of 7s separate and distinct dis
lsters.
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 e1pend-
ed. Thirty temporary hospitals were
called into existence, -twenty-odd mo-
aur corps were organized, seven spe-
cial relief trains were sent out and
no special representatives and nurses
we're furnished In addition to the aid
givea By the local Red Cross workers
a tho community visited by disaster.
In these 7S disasters, including: 10
arnsdoes and cyclones, 2 hurricanes.
Z cloud bursts, 1 hail storm, : earth
quakes. 1 landslide, is fires. explo-
ION, ) floods. 10 shipwrecks, l train
d" wreck, 1 riots, 1 motor accident and
Z droughts-Sso persons were killed.
fSoe wore injured, $4,000 (approxi-
fmately) we're rendered homeless
vhile property valued at s5,O00.ooo was
destroyed.
Tho largest and most destructive
disaster Of the year was at Corpus
Christi. Texas. in September, 1919.
Approximately 400 were killed and T.
600 made homeless. The Red Cross
division director with q staff Of 35
assistants administered fund of $780,
600, giving aid to $500 families and
four towns and rural districts and suf-
ncieat supplies to each family to en-
able Il 20 stand on It's feet.
Because Of tornadoes, the Gulf and
Eake Divisions were called upon to
sand emergency relief with trained
workers to nearly 80 communities. The
two dfouShts In Montana and North
Dakota gave abundant opportunity for
trained workers from the Northern Di-
vision to help the Red Cross chapters
demonstrate their usefulness. while a
number Of shipwrecks. proved the read
mess Of tho Atlantic Division and the
New York Metropolitan Area Commit.