NOLA Red Cross Disaster Relief by Elaine Vigneault/flickr

The American Red Cross was organized by Clara Barton, who volunteered as a nurse during the Civil War and helped search for missing Union Army soldiers. She knew firsthand what it was like to provide assistance during a disaster. The American Red Cross still mobilizes when help is needed in any part of the country and also helps the needy, supports members of the military and their families, and provides international relief, among other things. 

Emergency Training

The American Red Cross provides training in CPR, first aid, disaster response, and emergency preparedness. Individuals, groups, and professional rescuers can take classes in any of these areas, as well as in babysitting, nurse assistant training, and family care giving. Anyone with a desire to help others  can train to respond to disasters. Medical professionals can help tend to trauma patients or deliver babies. Other volunteers can help with a blood drive or deliver messages to Red Cross personnel.

Hurricane Katrina victims housed at New Orleans Superdome by FEMA

Hurricane Katrina victims housed at New Orleans Superdome by FEMA

Disaster Assistance

The American Red Cross provides direct assistance, also known as “hard assistance,” which includes food, shelter, first-aid kits, and other types of relief. During disasters, the Red Cross opens shelters where people can gather if their homes have been destroyed. Trained interviewers will meet with families in affected areas to determine what they need, whether it is food, financial assistance, or communication with other family members.  Nurses from the Red Cross can provide first aid to victims. The organization can help victims with financial assistance for medical needs, and runs blood drives to provide blood products to those who need them.

Counseling Services

Red Cross workers in the Disaster Mental Health Services division can work with victims of a disaster or emergency workers to help them recognize emotional distress and deal with the aftermath of an emergency. Whether a victim is searching for family members or needs financial assistance to recover his or her physical property, the Red Cross can help. The organization can help educate adults about helping children recover from traumatic events and can provide counseling for every family member.

Red Cross Station after Northridge Earthquake, USA by FEMA

Emergency Stations

When there is a blizzard, an earthquake, or another disaster, the Red Cross mobilizes to set up emergency stations for victims in the affected communities. Although bad weather can hamper assistance efforts, the Red Cross does its best to continue to provide relief when it is needed. To ensure that all the members of the community are assisted, Red Cross staff will canvass neighborhoods to provide relief supplies and information about disaster recovery.

The Red Cross can also provide information to help victims respond safely before disaster strikes. In areas where evacuation is necessary—before a hurricane, for example—Red Cross members can help residents safely out of their homes. They can also provide information to victims who are returning to their homes after a disaster such as a flood or a hurricane.

Military Service

The Red Cross supports military staff stationed around the world. Members of the organization assist military families if evacuation of an area is necessary. They provide canteen services, register passengers, and make sure they have all the necessary military clearances to leave an area. They even help families into the departing aircraft (or other form of transportation). Upon arrival to the United States, Red Cross volunteers immediately provide the victims with food and other necessities.

The American Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters every year, and 96 percent of its workforce is comprised of volunteers. The American Red Cross website provides preparedness information for any kind of disaster, from a hurricane to a pandemic flu. If a disaster strikes, the American Red Cross provides mobilization and disaster response, whether nationally or internationally. The Red Cross emphasizes the importance of being prepared and safe during disasters.

Sonia Banfield teaches nursing courses and is a content contributor for education sites. Today, nursing jobs are highly sought after by men and women thrown back into unemployment lines by a down economy. Sonia feels that give back careers such as medical assistant jobs and nurse jobs are even more important during tough times.

Watch this video from Foreign & Commonwealth Office.  It provides a shocking insight into consular incidents across the globe over a real 24 hour period.

The video, hosted on You Tube, plots the location of 1000s of incidents involving British nationals on 27 June 2011. The incidents vary enormously from routine enquiries into visas, birth registrations, marriage documentation, and the issuing of emergency travel documents, to the notification of arrests, prison visits, assisting British nationals involved in bus crashes and serious accidents and liaising with families following fatalities. There were also cases involving forced marriage, child abduction, rape and murder.

This video is on our website upon request by the FCO – Foreign & Commonwealth Office

The number of Britons arrested overseas has fallen by over 10%¹, according to the new Foreign and Commonwealth Office British Behaviour Abroad report.  Drug arrests have decreased by almost 20% over the past year.

Despite this positive trend, Foreign Office staff still handled 5,700 arrest cases last year with Spain and USA showing the highest figures. Drug arrests continue to be a significant problem for some countries, particularly parts of South America and the Caribbean where a high proportion of total arrests are drug related.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office report, which discloses the number of consular cases handled across the globe from 1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011, provides a unique insight into the number of Britons who get into difficulty overseas.

 Minister for Europe, David Lidington, said:   

“We work hard to warn British nationals about the consequences of breaking the law abroad so it is really encouraging to see the overall number of cases of arrests and drug arrests falling.  But last year there were still 5700 arrests of British nationals overseas.  Prison conditions in some parts of the world can be very poor, overcrowded and, in some cases, dangerous and sentences can be much tougher than in the UK.  People are mistaken if they think the Foreign Office can get you out of jail.  We can’t, but we will work hard to try and ensure your safety, and that you get a fair trial.”

New consumer research launched today by the Foreign Office reveals that 43%² of 18-24 year olds know someone who has taken illegal drugs whilst abroad. It also showed that over two thirds (69%) of people in Britain don’t always find out about the laws of the country they are visiting before they go abroad – putting themselves at risk of unknowingly breaking the law.  More worryingly nearly a third (32%) of people are not aware that they will always be prosecuted under local law if they break the law abroad – with 6% of people thinking they will be prosecuted under UK law,  22% thinking it depends on the country they are in and 4% admitted to not knowing at all.

Aside from arrests, the British Behaviour Abroad report shows that the number of Brits hospitalised abroad has increased to 3,752 cases, despite fewer people from the UK travelling abroad last year³.  Medical treatment abroad can be very expensive and to avoid being faced with large bills if taken ill or after having an accident, the Foreign Office is urging people to take out a comprehensive travel insurance policy before they go away this summer.  Previous research suggests that 15% of Britons travel abroad uninsured⁴.

Other key findings from the British Behaviour Abroad report include:

• Spain continues to be the country where most Britons require assistance (4,971 cases) but when you take visitor and resident numbers into account, you are most likely to need consular assistance in the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan
• The number of rape cases in Greece almost halved since 2009-10 from 27 to 15, although the numbers of sexual assault cases rose significantly
• The number of Brits hospitalised abroad has increased with Spain handling the most cases (1,024) followed by Greece.  Proportionally Brits are most likely to be hospitalised in Thailand
• In total Foreign Office staff handled 19,228 serious consular cases last year

Please refer to the British Behaviour Abroad report 2011 for further data.

For details on how the Foreign Office can help if you get into trouble abroad, please visit www.fco.gov.uk/travel

The Foreign Office is encouraging people to sign up to Facebook and Twitter feeds to ensure they are informed of the latest travel advice: www.facebook.com/fcotravel or twitter.com/fcotravel

References

1. The report details that the numbers of cases handled by Foreign Office staff from April 2010 to March 2011.
2. Survey conducted by ICM. Total sample size was 2,000 GB adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 15-16 June 2011.  The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
3. In the 12-month period to April 2011, the number of visits abroad by UK residents fell by 2 per cent when compared with the 12 months to April 2010, from 56.6 to 55.4 million – a drop of 1.2 million.  For more information please refer to: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=352
4. UK Travel Habits Tracking Research – November 2010

In the past, Croatia was a favourite holiday destination of royalty on the Adriatic Sea, with Italy only a few hundred kilometres away. Until about 20 years ago, most people didn’t really know where Croatia was. It was a lost place in Cold War Europe, part of “the eastern bloc”, and that was roughly the extent of Western knowledge for nearly four generations. Now, Croatia has become a true tourist destination again. All you need to see this extraordinary place is a good instinct for the unique travel experience, some good travel insurance and an appreciation for one of Europe’s lost worlds.

Croatia today

The brutal horrors of the break up of Yugoslavia in the 90s were the first sign of the re-emergence of Croatia. After this unspeakable experience, the Croats set to work to rebuild and modernize their country. The new travel boom is a good indication of how successfully they’ve achieved those goals.

It hasn’t been easy, though. Croatia, like most of eastern Europe, was severely under-capitalized and also had to deal with the strange effects of Soviet-era infrastructure, which in most cases has been an expensive liability. The Croatians have been relentlessly getting rid of these dinosaurs and replacing them with modern facilities, but removing 50 years of old junk has been to put it mildly an acquired taste. Getting Dubrovnik airport up to its modern capacity couldn’t have been simple. It was a local/provincial airport in Yugoslavia, now it’s a major portal for the whole region.

The Croatians have taken a very practical approach to their new status as a tourist destination. They’ve done the right thing, keeping the character of their country and not inflicting themselves with the lethally expensive cost bases of the very high maintenance resorts of the West. When you come to Croatia these days, you see the country as the Croats are trying to make it, their homeland, constructed their way. That alone makes Croatia a must-see destination, and with any luck the rest of the region will follow the same approach.

Croatia for visitors

To get around Croatia, Dubrovnik is the main starting point, and it’s also the place from which it’s easiest to reach the rest of the country. That’s actually pretty handy, too, because although the distances aren’t great, the travel arrangements may require some management, and you can get good local knowledge in Dubrovnik about the best ways to get where you want to go.

This country is a truly incredible place. With the Adriatic to the west and the mountains to the east, it’s a land of major contrasts. The Adriatic islands, particularly the Dalmatian Archipelago to the south, are likely to become major tourist centres like the Greek and Spanish islands. They’re fabulous places, and the coastal trips are well worth the effort. Unlike the Mediterranean, the climate is more temperate and the sea isn’t as crowded and grotesquely polluted as it is around the big Western Mediterranean centres. You can fish, swim and snorkel in peace.

The other good news for tourists is that Croatia is actually pretty cheap, particularly by European standards. If you’ve got some cheap travel insurance, you can cover all your travel costs and still have extra cash in your pocket to spend. Come to Croatia, and see for yourself.

There are too many reasons why you should buy travel insurance even when you are going on a short holiday inside Australia. Even cheap travel insurance bought from direct providers online should be very comprehensive. There are just too many reasons why you always want to be covered. In this article, we look at some of the major reasons why you just have to have travel insurance.

• Cancellations. All holidays require some form of booking and payment in advance. To get the Stradbroke island accommodation you want, partial payment well in advance is normally required. You will also make a range of other preparations before you go. If you get ill, or there is another valid reason why your holiday is canceled, such as due to extreme weather conditions, travel insurance will cover you against that. Check your policy carefully.
• Emergency Rescue. Although you are not going to be far away from help, if you get lost in the middle of nowhere, and you are badly hurt, specialist evacuation might be necessary. The cost of search and rescue is horrendous. Getting hit for this bill at a later date is very possible. You might be paying of your rescue for many years to come.
• Holiday Ends Early. Have you thought about the fact you might get ill during your holiday? If your holiday is cut short, there are policies that will cover you for the costs that you have already paid for. This is similar to cancellation, but with a twist. Make sure your policy covers you in this case.
• Special Activities. Your medical insurance will probably not cover you for situations that are considered high risk. This might just be a part of participating in some deep-sea fishing. Travel insurance that covers you for special activities will cost a little extra, but again, it is often very necessary for holidays in Australia.
• Yearly Coverage. If you and your family have several holidays each year, or several trips to Stradebroke Island, or your favorite spot on North Stradbroke Island, for example, you should compare the cost of yearly coverage. Each trip will have a limit on the number of days that will be covered, but the cost of this type of single policy could well be cheaper than 4 or 6 separate policies.
• Property Damage. Have you ever thought about accidental damage to your holiday accommodation? What about accidentally hurting someone else? You could have legal and other costs that run into the many tens of thousands. Good insurance will also have you covered.
• Compare. You must read the full details of each and every policy. Even cheap travel insurance can be good travel insurance, it is just you are buying direct. It is not the price, it is the details of coverage that is important.