American Red Cross Escalates Massive Relief Operation

Washington - The American Red Cross relief operation for Hurricane Sandy continues to grow each day, with more than 4,000 disaster workers providing shelter, food and relief supplies, particularly in hard-hit New Jersey and New York.

“Our entire fleet of response vehicles and thousands of Red Crossers are on the ground helping people affected by Sandy,” said Charley Shimanski, senior vice president of Disaster Services for the Red Cross. “ We're driving through neighborhoods in all five boroughs in New York and parts of New Jersey to provide food, water, supplies and comfort.”

On Friday night, more than 12,800 people across nine states stayed in shelters. Of these, more than 6,100 were in Red Cross shelters in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio. Millions more are still without power, water or heat.