Natural Disasters Keep Stamford-Based AmeriCares Busy
STAMFORD, CT (CBSNewYork / AP) - While still providing aid to dozens of countries overseas, AmeriCares has been sending relief to flood and tornado stricken states in the south and Midwest.
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Since last month, tornadoes have hit seven states, killing over 350 people.
"Since that time, we've responded with over $1 million in aid for tornado survivors. We've sent medicines, medical supplies, bottled water, hygiene products for the families left homeless," says spokesperson Donna Porshna.
She says aid is going out to the tens of thousands of people displaced.
"We've been providing aid to Mississippi [and] Alabama. We've also sent bottled water to Indiana and Tennessee from massive flooding, and now we plan to send several aid deliveries down to Missouri," says Porshna, who says an expert is already on the ground there.
This is happening while they are still providing relief to Japan and Libya.
Porshna says medical supplies are donated and AmeriCares relies on the generosity of donors for money to transport these supplies.
To donate to AmeriCares, click HERE.
The death toll from a Missouri tornado stands at 117, making it the single deadliest tornado in the U.S. since at least 1950.
Gov. Jay Nixon's spokesman, Sam Murphey, said Tuesday morning that the death toll is now 117.
Until this week, the single deadliest tornado on record with the National Weather Service in the past six decades was a twister that killed 116 people in Flint, Mich., in 1953.
More deaths have resulted from outbreaks of multiple tornadoes. In April, a pack of twisters roared across six Southern states, killing more than 300 people, more than two-thirds of them in Alabama. April 27 was the single deadliest day for tornadoes since 1950.
(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
