The American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles responds to disasters big and small all year round. Recent disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, have shown that investment in disaster preparedness before it is needed will likely save more lives and reduce suffering more effectively than a similar investment once disaster strikes. With that in mind, we have created a Catastrophic Disaster Plan that will enable us to respond to a large-scale disaster effectively and efficiently.

Once the CAT plan is fully funded, we will be able to accommodate 250,000 evacuees (twice as many as the Northridge Earthquake needed), 110,000 affected residential units, and over 2 million meals served. We will also have a state-of-the-art transportation and communication system that will allow us to be fully functional with no outside help for up to 7 days.