SEAFORD, DE – June 27, 2006 – Emblazoned with the Red Cross emblem, the Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) is easy to see and identify as it travels through neighborhoods after a disaster. Today, communities recovering from severe flooding in Sussex County, DE, and Caroline and Dorchester Counties, MD, received food and beverages, clean-up supplies, comfort and hope from volunteers from Red Cross, AmeriCorps * National Civilian Community Corps, and the Salvation Army providing mobile feeding from the Red Cross ERV and an assortment of vehicles.

The ERV is a key component of the Red Cross mass care services provided to communities all across the country—wherever and whenever disaster strikes. Crews include Red Cross trained ERV drivers responsible for helping maintain, drive, load and unload the vehicles. There are more than 1,200 trained ERV drivers nationwide, of which 52 have been trained by the American Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula. While the ERV is an essential tool for mass mobile feeding, locally the chapter works with community partners and employs an array of vehicles to accomplish the mobile feeding missions. Most are volunteers, including married couples such as John and Mary Morrow of Bear, DE, who work with chapters to deliver and distribute their precious cargo of emergency food, water and other relief supplies to those impacted by a tragedy. ERV teams can deliver hundreds of lunches and drinks per load to disaster survivors, emergency personnel and relief workers. In addition, they distribute other relief supplies such as personal comfort, hygiene and clean-up kits to those in need of them.

Due to the magnitude of the Southern Delmarva flooding, the American Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula partnered with its sister chapter, the American Red Cross, Lower Shore Chapter—who brought their emergency feeding vehicle from Salisbury, Maryland—and the Salvation Army’s Mobile Canteen, to deliver emergency food and clean up kits to affected communities. In addition, teams of volunteers from both Red Cross chapters assisted with an important step in determining financial assistance for those families whose homes were devastated by the flooding, by driving through neighborhoods, compiling damage assessment reports on homes damaged by the flooding.

Mark Tinsman, Emergency Services Director for the American Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula, requested communities who need mobile feeding to call the Red Cross at 1-800-777-6620 to request this service. Today, mobile feeding vehicles are serving: portions of Seaford and Blades in Sussex County, Hurlock, Williamsburg, and Galestown in Dorchester County, and the Federalsburg area in Caroline County, and will provide emergency food between lunchtime and 4:00pm for the next few days. He cautioned that this emergency Red Cross service does not include replacing food lost due to power outages. Individuals and families affected by this flooding emergency can call the American Red Cross to determine whether they are eligible for financial assistance at 1-800-777-6620.