More Powerful Isaac Takes Aim at Gulf Coast - 7 Years after Katrina

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By the time Tropical Storm Isaac strikes Haiti and the Dominican Republic, it is expected to intensify to hurricane strength—leading to a potentially disastrous situation for an already vulnerable population. Relief workers in our Haiti office are in close contact with partner organizations, and stand at the ready to respond with medicines and relief supplies to help families in need. At our Port-au-Prince warehouse, family emergency kits are ready for immediate distribution to displaced Haitian families. Each kit contains first aid supplies, water purification tablets, soap and other basic necessities. The kits are part of a disaster preparedness plan that aims to put crucial relief supplies in the hands of response partners and survivors as quickly as possible In the Dominican Republic, AmeriCares recently awarded a ${esc.dollar}10,000 disaster pre-positioning grant to a partner organization for the purchase of relief items such as batteries, flashlights, water purification supplies and cooking utensils. These essentials help meet urgent needs while we work with partners to prepare shipments of emergency medical and humanitarian aid. Should the storm strike Florida as predicted, hundreds of family emergency kits are ready to be shipped from our warehouse, if needed, to help U.S. families evacuated to shelters or cleaning up flood damage in their homes. Our emergency response team is in close touch with partners throughout Florida and is prepared to ship the kits and support our clinic partners with medicines and medical supplies. AmeriCares has provided medical relief and humanitarian assistance to millions affected by natural and man-made disasters for 30 years, including hurricanes Katrina and Irene in the United States, earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, Pakistan and Japan, and the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. So far in 2012, AmeriCares has responded to tornadoes in Kentucky and Indiana, wildfires in Colorado, storms and power outages in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest and flooding in Minnesota.