The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-11-21

=
Mobilization operations, requiring the
expenditure Of 4i,6S2,OOO by the
American Red Cross IN behalf Of
approximately 60,bOO persons, are
described In the official Red Cross
report on the New York New Eng
land hurricane and floods Of last
year, Just released by national head
quarters.
The cost Of this major disaster
relief undertaking, It Is revealed,
was betrayed by contributions Of orr
CARNATIONS and individuals amount
ing to 1930,740.25 and allotments
from the organizations annual dis
aster relief appropriation and disas-
ter relief revolving fund totaling
$751;, 251.75.
New England Contributes
OF the amount raised by SUBJ
Scription, q total Of $751;, 64l 40 was
contributed by the six New Eng
land states and New York, and the
remainder Of $179,l06.76 was con-
tributed by the other states, the
insular possessions and foreign
countries.
Distribution Of relief expenditures
among the seven stricken states in
accordance with their needs Is re-
ported as follows: Massachusetts,
$685., 847.70; Rhode Island, $685.
1851: Connecticut, $500, 084.60; New
York, e140,715.44; New Hampshire,
4l16,53O52; Vermont, 953,3l4.26, and
New Jersey, $116.94. A contingent
fund Of $1l, 905.03 accounted for the
remainder Of the total
injury, loss Of life and particular.
~ property damage, II Is pointed out,
were augmented by the nature Of
the calamity, which was q cornbi1a-
ton Of two Observation-Disclosures and
floods. Several days prior to the
hurricane on September 81, floods
had been on the make" through
out New England and continued to
do considerable damage even after
the hurricane had blown itself out,
the report states.
494 People Killed
The survey Of losses reveals that
494 persons were killed and 708 In
jured; $500 homes, summer cot
tages and farm buildings destroyed;
1899 homes, summer cottages and
farm buildings damaged; 2,605 boats
lost and 1889 boats damaged. Whole
forests were wasted, and the esti-
mated tree loss totaled 1000, 000, 900
board feet In timber.
BY far the greater proportion Of
injuries, loss Of life and property
damage occurred in rural areas, II
Is pointed out, although many towns
and cities were hard hit and the
damage In a number Of urban areas
was increased by fire and flood.
Concerning the care Of the In
jured. the report states:
when necessary, these patients
were given first aid and transported
to hospitals In the cities, but for the
most part the emergency care In the
rural, isolated areas was provided
by local doctors and nurses.
Hospital facilities" the report
continues, were available to all pa
tients, making 1t unnecessary for the
Red Cross to open and maintain
emergency hospitals. For the most
part, hospital bills and medical
charges were assumed by the in
jured person or his family, or the
hospitals and physicians made no
charges to non-paying patients. But
when this service was not available
the Red Cross provided the neces-
sary care"
80 Frequency States
During the first few days, accord
ing to the report, SO emergency first
aid stations were established by the
Red Cross within the stricken area,
20 Of which served as iinmunization
centers. These stations administered
first aid to 5000 persons and gave
innoculations to 1000. Surveys
showed for the most part that peo-
pie were either killed outright or
were relatively unframed. suffering
fractures or minor injuries from fly-
ing objects such as tree limbs, brok-
en- glass and other debris.
Rescue, transportation, and the
provision Of food, shelter and cloth
4 ing for the disaster refugees were
major tasks during the emergency
relief period. Many persons were
taken into the homes Of friends and
relatives, but 15,i07 persons were
taken care Of in Red Cross shelters
throughout the afflicted area, and
rescue. transportation and mass
shelter were provided for 1882 fam.
lilies. Food, clothing and other main
tenance were given $3.50 families.
. BY October IS, all the mass care &C.
tivities Of the emergency relief pro-
gram had been terminated and all
shelters had been closed.
The handling Of welfare Inquiries
from relatives and friends OF those
4 In the stricken area was In itself
mammoth task, further compli-
Gated, the report shows, by the
4 breakdown Of telephone. telegraph
and other communication facilities
over extensive areas. Concerning
this phase Of operations the report
states:
AT general headquarters at Prov
idence, Rhode Island, during this
disaster, $50 chapters and 1856 In
dividuals made inquiry. and over 500
persons wired, telephoned or came
In person to national headquarters
in Washington asking for help In
obtaining news Of relatives and
friends. Practically the entire United
States was served, the bulk Of In
quiries coming from New England,
Delaware, Maryland, Wisconsin, Me-
braska, Florida, California, Utah,
New Mexico and the West Indies.
The time that elapsed between the
receipt Of the telegram and the
sending Of an answer averaged one
day"
19,60S Families Sought Aid
The number Of families appealing
to the Red Cross for emergency help
or rehabilitation assistance follow
ing the disaster was l9608. accord
ing to the report, which pays trib-
ute to the inhabitants Of the disas-
ter area In the following comment:
The self-reliance Of their people
was Y,erhans the outstanding feature