A dozen Hawaii Red Cross volunteers have been assigned to deploy to American Samoa in the next few days to help those affected by Tuesday’s 8.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami. They include volunteers from Oahu, Big Island, Maui and Kauai.

The American Red Cross is already providing assistance with dozens of American Samoa Red Cross volunteers providing food and supplies in affected areas. A leadership team of 50 Red Cross volunteers from across the nation will be traveling to American Samoa shortly to supplement the local Red Cross workforce. The immediate focus of the Red Cross is to provide food, water and needed supplies. The Red Cross has a warehouse on the island stocked with disaster relief supplies, and will be sending in additional supplies as quickly as possible.

The Red Cross says the best way to share information with loved ones is to register them with the Red Cross Safe and Well Web site at www.redcross.org.
Those who do not have Internet access can call 800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767) to register. Follow the prompts for disaster information.
Concerned family members who know the person's phone number (home, cell or work) or a complete home address can search for messages posted about their loved ones.
Donations are also accepted at the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. On those rare occasions when donations exceed Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters. The money enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to victims of all disasters.
Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to the Hawaii State Chapter at 4155 Diamond Head Road, Honolulu, HI 96816, or to American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C., 20013. Internet users can make a secure online donation by visiting www.redcross.org.