May 23, 2006
The American Red Cross Greater Ozarks Chapter (serving 16 counties) has seen a dramatic increase in the demand for local disaster assistance this fiscal year (July 1, 2005-present). While services will not be compromised or neglected, it is extremely important that the community continues to support our on-going efforts to bring hope and comfort to local families after a disaster.

Here is a break down of disaster response/assistance:

Number of disaster cases requiring Red Cross response � 234 (2004-05) vs. 303 (2005-06 to date)

Number of people helped through disaster assistance � 676 (2004-05) vs. 1010 (2005-06 to date)

Disaster financial support budgeted for July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006 � $512,000

Disaster financial support provided to date (July 1, 2005-present) � $781,032 (up 94% from same period last year)

If trends continue, Red Cross disaster assistance could be as high as 83% over the projected budget.

Please note: these figures do not reflect disasters that received national reimbursement (hurricanes and tornadoes).

The good news is that we are moving out of �fire season� where people are using traditional and non-traditional heat sources. However, fires have remained fairly steady in the past few weeks.