Shelter Safety Concerns & Attitudes

Red Cross shelter safest place to be (Sun-Sentinel, July 29, 2006)

"On the heels of two devastating hurricane seasons, I was troubled to see the Harvard University survey stating that one in four people would ignore evacuation orders. According to the study, more than one in three of those who said they would stay behind believed evacuation would be dangerous. During a hurricane, nothing is more dangerous than remaining in a flood-prone area or a susceptible structure.

"Additionally, 35 percent of respondents expressed worry about staying in a shelter because of concerns over sanitation and availability of food and water. Images of the Superdome in New Orleans undoubtedly contributed to these feelings. However, the Superdome was not an American Red Cross-operated shelter....

"Shelters operated by the American Red Cross are held to the highest safety and sanitation standards.... All locations have sanitary and operational bathrooms. The Red Cross network of warehouses and staging areas ensures that food and water supply are plentiful and readily available to shelter residents. In short, if you live in an evacuation zone, there is no safer place to be than a shelter."