Have you been affected by a disaster? If so, the American Red Cross may be able to help.
If you have been affected by a disaster and need immediate assistance, please call: 513-579-3010 or toll free 1-800-255-7070
If you live within our coverage area (see map in “About Us” section), it is likely that the local Red Cross Disaster Team responded to the disaster incident to provide emergency assistance to you and others affected by the disaster. In the event that the Red Cross was not called to the disaster scene, and you need emergency assistance immediately following a disaster, please call the number above. If you live outside of the Cincinnati Area Chapter coverage area, please contact your local Red Cross chapter. Find your local Red Cross Chapter here.
Disasters requiring a Red Cross response are defined as “Any single event that makes a person’s home unliveable” including natural disasters and some man-made disasters such as hazardous materials spills. Following a disaster, if you need emergency assistance, the Cincinnati Area Chapter of the American Red Cross may be able to assist you with:
All American Red Cross disaster help is free and is provided by voluntary contributions of the American People. Needs for assistance are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and guided by our American Red Cross national assistance guidelines to ensure good stewardship of all donated funds.
If You Need to Locate Family Members Affected by Disaster:
If you have an immediate family member located in a disaster affected area, and you have been unsuccessful in contacting them, the Red Cross may be able to help you contact that family member if his or her case involves a medical or mental health emergency. In this instance, please contact the Cincinnati Area Chapter at 513-579-3000 to initiate a Disaster Welfare Inquiry.
If you have an immediate family member located in a disaster affected area whose case does not involve a medical or mental health emergency, you can access the Safe and Well Red Cross website or call with any questions.
Check on your loved ones and friends in the event of a disaster
http://disastersafe.redcross.org
The American Red Cross Safe and Well Website, accessible via http://disastersafe.redcross.org, is an internet-based tool that families can integrate into their family communications plan and also one that the Red Cross will use to help disaster victims communicate from inside the disaster-affected areas to loved ones outside. People within a disaster area can register themselves as "safe and well" by selecting and posting standard messages for friends and family that indicate they are safe and well at a shelter, home or hotel, and will make contact when they are able. Concerned family members who know the person's phone number (home, cell or work) or a complete home address can search for the messages posted by those who self-register.
The Safe and Well Website complies with all privacy and child protection laws. Because of these privacy concerns, no location information is publicly displayed on this website. The results of a successful search only display a loved one's first name, last name, an as of date, and the Safe and Well messages they posted.
If you need more information, please contact the Cincinnati Area Chapter at 513-579-3000. During disasters, a hotline will be set up to take these calls, but please be patient as call volume is often very high on such occasions.
Turn your compassion and caring into action...
become a Red Cross disaster volunteer.
Volunteer Positions
The American Red Cross is a volunteer-driven organization, and we constantly seek new volunteers in the disaster services for various jobs from in the field to in the office. For both local and national disaster work, all volunteer positions in Disaster Services require a background check and training from your local chapter prior to placement as a Red Cross Disaster Volunteer. So the best time to become a volunteer is NOW so that you may be trained and ready to respond when disasters strike!
DSHR (Disaster Services Human Resources) for large national disasters: Any Disaster Volunteer that has completed a background check and been trained and approved by their local chapter may choose to be listed in the DSHR system. The DSHR system is utilized to recruit trained Red Cross Disaster Volunteers for specific volunteer jobs in large national disasters such as hurricanes or floods. DSHR assignments typically require 3 consecutive weeks of availability to volunteer at the disaster location and volunteers must often be ready to leave on 48 hours notice after indicating they are available for assignment. The Disaster Relief Operation requests DSHR volunteers based on the specific job types and skills needed at the disaster site, thus DSHR members often volunteer locally for their chapter in Disaster Services to gain the training, skills, and experience needed to be useful on Disaster Assignment.
Local Mass Care Volunteer: Mass Care volunteers are responsible for Feeding and Sheltering activities in large local disasters or in longer duration local disasters. While disasters in Cincinnati requiring feeding and sheltering are less common, there is always a need for a trained base of Community Services/Mass Care volunteers to be ready in the event of a large disaster. In addition, there are also ongoing projects for Community Services/Mass Care volunteers that aid in our area’s preparedness including Surveying prospective Shelter facilities, building chapter resources for disaster, updating Shelter Kits and materials, Mass Care drills, and other projects. Community Services/Mass Care volunteers may also choose to be involved in DSHR—Disaster Services Human Resources—through which they may then be called upon to respond to large national disasters.
Disaster Action Team Member: When a local disaster occurs such as a fire or tornado, the Disaster Action Team volunteers are the first Red Cross presence at the scene. Team members are trained to help families at the scene to disaster clients with their immediate disaster caused needs, and also to support the emergency workers with canteen service. If considering a Disaster Team volunteer position, please keep in mind that when DAT volunteers are on call (on call times are negotiated when you start with the team), they are expected to respond within minutes of being dispatched by the Red Cross since disasters may happen at any hour. Disaster Action Team members may also choose to be involved in DSHR—Disaster Services Human Resources—through which they may then be called upon to respond to large national disasters.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer in any of these capacities click here to learn about the application process.