New Website Launched for 2006 Hurricane Season

A month into the 2006 hurricane season that began on June 1, the American Red Cross is launching the Safe and Well Website to provide families with a tool to exchange welfare information with loved ones and friends in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

The overwhelming scope of the 2005 hurricane season challenged the Red Cross to develop innovative ways, such as the use of web-based technology, to help disaster victims communicate with loved ones outside of the disaster area. The Safe and Well Website, accessible via http://www.redcross.org, allows a disaster victim to select and post standard messages for friends and family that indicate the victim is safe and well at a shelter, home or hotel and will make contact when they are able. Those worried about the safety of their family member can access the Safe and Well Website, enter either the name and telephone number or name and complete address of the person in question and view their "safe and well" messages. There will be telephone- based assistance for those who cannot access this site and service via the Internet.

As with any other Red Cross service or product, the Safe and Well Website safeguards the privacy of disaster victims. Messages will be viewable by friends and family, but the website will not reveal a registered person's location. Privacy laws require the Red Cross to protect each person's right to determine how best to communicate their contact information and whereabouts to family members.

The effectiveness of the Safe and Well Website will depend largely on widespread awareness of what the tool can do, especially by populations living in disaster-prone areas and their family and loved ones.

In the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma where millions of people were ordered to evacuate, the Red Cross urges all Americans to develop a family communication plan and make the Safe and Well Website an integral part of it.

Important tips to remember when developing a family communication plan:

* Plan ahead for the possibility of becoming separated from your family

and friends.

* Choose an out-of-town contact that each family or household member can

call or email should a disaster occur. Your selected contact should live

far enough away that they would be unlikely to be directly affected by

the same event. They should be aware that they are the chosen contact.

* All of your loved ones should have the phone number for the contact as

well as each other's phone numbers and email addresses. Loved ones

should agree to call the out-of-town contact to report their whereabouts

and welfare. Consider having a laminated wallet-sized card made to carry

with you at all times.

Preparing for a disaster, such as a hurricane, ahead of time can help alleviate the stress you may face during the storm, and ease the burden on your family and loved ones. For more information regarding how individuals and families can prepare for disasters visit http://www.redcross.org or contact your local Red Cross chapter.

The American Red Cross has helped people mobilize to help their neighbors for 125 years. Last year, victims of a record 72,883 disasters, most of them fires, turned to the nearly 1 million volunteers and 35,000 employees of the Red Cross for help and hope. Through more than 800 locally supported chapters, more than 15 million people each year gain the skills they need to prepare for and respond to emergencies in their homes, communities and world. Almost 4 million people give blood -- the gift of life -- through the Red Cross, making it the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The Red Cross helps thousands of U.S. service members separated from their families by military duty stay connected. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global network of more than 180 national societies, the Red Cross helps restore hope and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.