In the immediate aftermath of a major disaster, people around the country contact their local American Red Cross Chapter when worried about the welfare of their loved ones. Contacting a loved one may be difficult due to the loss or overload of telephone circuits, and possible evacuations of the area. Red Cross has the same problem with communications as the general public and the Red Cross is often restricted by emergency personnel from going into a disaster area until it is declared safe.

The Red Cross and many other agencies are working to ensure the safety of all people affected by the disaster and to meet their primary needs of food and shelter. As soon as phones and internet are up and working, Red Cross will be encouraging people within the disaster area to contact their loved one as soon as possible.

If the loved one has a health or mental health problem that makes them particularly vulnerable, contact your local Red Cross Chapter. When making your call having the following information about the person will shorten the time of your call and increase the chances of locating them: name of the person (last, first, and middle initial); details of their medical condition that makes them vulnerable; age; relationship of the sought person to you; names of others living in the sought person's household; current address, city, state, and zip; and if available their phone number(s) and e-mail address. Please be aware that the Red Cross does not have "search and locate" capabilities at the disaster location. Red Cross will use the best available resources to conduct outreach efforts to locate the sought person.

If the health problem is an urgent life threatening emergency, call the emergency authorities in the disaster affected area.

How Red Cross Conducts Disaster Wellbeing Inquiries
Prior to the 2005 hurricane season, the Red Cross concentrated its efforts on building and sustaining an inquiry-based wellbeing system. Over 300,000 inquiries of this type were taken in 2005. To improve its ability to provide information to many more people outside of the affected area, Red Cross has begun using a system of helping those affected by the disaster to initiate contact with family members. This is how wellbeing information on most people within a disaster affected area is done. At every point of Red Cross service- shelters, feeding and distribution sites, emergency aid stations, and service centers- people are reminded to inform their family members, and encouraged to register on the Safe and Well website.

The Safe and Well website is an internet tool that families can integrate into their Family Communications Plan and also one Red Cross uses to help disaster victims communicate from inside the disaster affected areas to loved ones outside.

The website complies with all privacy and child protection laws. Because of the privacy concerns, no location information is publicly displayed on the website. When a family conducts a successful search, they are only able to view the loved one's First Name, Last Name, and "As of Date" and the "Safe and Well" message selected.

The Safe and Well website is accessible at all times. For further information and to reach the Safe and Well website go to https://disastersafe.redcross.org. 
 

For information on creating a Family Communication Plan, visit Get Prepared page.

Additional Options for Contacting Loved Ones

1. Try placing calls during off-peak hours. Phone service can be spotty and intermittent, depending on the volume of calls into the disaster area.

2. Try sending a text message to the sought person. Often, text messages go through when cell calls do not.

3. If the sought person has a computer, try sending the sought person an email. The sought person may have evacuated to an area where email can be accessed.

4. Think of other friends and relatives the sought person may have already contacted. Call or email those people to find out what information they may have.

5. Try other phone numbers such as neighbors of sought person's neighbors, employer, co-workers, school, or place of worship.

6. Call places where the person sought is well-known. Perhaps a senior center, social club, union, fraternal organization, etc., may know the person's whereabouts.

7. Check to make sure you are using the correct phone number(s).

8. Try sending a letter to the sought person and enclosing a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Even if they have evacuated and are staying somewhere else, they will pick up or get there mail forwarded. If they have evacuated, the sought person may not have brought stamps and necessary addresses and phone numbers with them.