Hurricane Patricia: Red Cross remains ready to respond

Topics: AmericasEmergencies and Disasters Worldwide
| October 24, 2015

On October 23, Mexico braced for the impact of Hurricane Patricia. Reaching unprecedented winds as high as 320 kilometers per hour, Patricia became the most powerful hurricane measured in the Western Hemisphere.

As of Saturday October 24, Hurricane Patricia has been downgraded to a tropical depression. While the Red Cross had planned for the worst and moved supplies and volunteers closer to the expected impacted areas, we hoped that it would not be necessary to use either. On the ground, the Mexican Red Cross has travelled to the affected communities to carry out their needs assessment. Our team in Canada has been in constant communication with the Red Cross in Mexico and with Red Cross societies around the world as we prepare to take action as needed.

The Mexican Red Cross is not actively soliciting donations at this time to help with the storm response. Right now, there are lingering concerns about flooding and mudslides, and if those materialize an appeal for donations may be activated at that time.

However, donations for our International Disaster Relief Fund are always accepted. Donations will be used to support the ongoing efforts of the Canadian Red Cross and our ability to respond within hours of a disaster, anywhere in the world.