Photo Credit: American Red Cross/Talia Frenkel

International Disaster Family Linking

JANUARY 14, 2010

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has launched a Family Links Website aimed at enabling persons in Haiti and abroad to register the names of relatives with whom they are striving to restore contact. It will progressively incorporate information offering responses to those queries.

Persons seeking news from their loved ones can therefore register the name of the sought persons directly on the site:

http://www.icrc.org/familylinks

• The information given on this website is not confidential and can be viewed by anyone.
• The majority of postings on the FamilyLinks website are from people who are searching for loved ones
• As the Red Cross in Haiti is able to collect information on those who are safe and well, we expect to see more “safe and well” postings from Haiti. We do not know when this will happen, but Tracing specialists are in Haiti, and this is a priority.

Instructions for using the FamilyLinks website

• First search the list. Try various spellings of the name.
• If your relative is not on the list, click on “Register Your Relative”
• Family members should search The List regularly to see if their loved one has registered.
• If there are multiple search results, multiple people may be seeking the same individual and could have extra information.

Inquiries regarding US Citizens living or traveling in Haiti

Inquiries concerning U.S. Citizens abroad should be referred to the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens services, at 1-888-407-4747 or 202-647-5225

For additional information on the Red Cross Response and Haiti see the links below
http://www.icrc.org/eng

Making a Donation to the victims of Haiti and or the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund

Donations to the International Response Fund can be made by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at www.redcross.org. or by clicking here.

A young boy is assisted by a Red Cross worker in Haiti. Picture from http://www.ifrc.org/

Tuesday, January 13, 2010 —

Hundreds of thousands of people have died in Haiti’s earthquake, the prime minister has confirmed today.

Haitian authorities said the powerful quake destroyed most of the capital city of Port-au-Prince.  About 3 million people — one-third of Haiti’s population — were affected by the quake, the Red Cross estimates.

The 7.0+-magnitude earthquake struck shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday and it was felt strongly in eastern Cuba, more than 200 miles away. Next door neighbor, the Dominican Republic, reported shaking in its capital, Santo Domingo but there was no significant damage. There are more than 9 million people in Haiti and unfortunately, the country is considered to be the poorest in the Western Hemisphere and among the poorest in the world.

What the Red Cross is doing…

The American Red Cross has increased its pledge of $200,000 to $1,000,000 to assist communities impacted by the earthquake and is prepared to take further action as local responders assess the situation.  The organization has made available all of the relief supplies from its warehouse in Panama which would provide for basic needs for approximately 5,000 families. In addition, it is deploying a disaster management specialist to Haiti, and has additional disaster specialists on standby if needed. The Haitian Red Cross is expected to lead the Red Cross response.

The American Red Cross does not anticipate accepting in-kind donations for this international response.  In addition, please note we are not accepting volunteers to travel to Haiti.

For inquiries about relatives living and who have citizenship in Haiti, please be patient and call repeatedly until the lines clear or contact other family members who live nearby. Telephone, Internet and other communication lines are often disrupted in times of disaster. People trying to locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Haiti should contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or 202-647-5225.

You can help the victims of countless crises, like the recent earthquake in Haiti, around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation (designated gifts should be directed to the following fund: AP 2885, Haiti Relief and Development), by mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Donations to the International Response Fund can be made by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at www.redcross.orgwww.redcross.org

In addition, you can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief for Haiti.

For more information please view the video below.

Thank you.