WASHINGTON, July 1, 2006 -- Disaster can strike quickly and without warning. It can force many to evacuate neighborhoods and communities and lose contact with friends and family. The American Red Cross, along with many familiar partner agencies, wants to ensure that families have a bevy of resources and options to use in order to communicate in times of disaster.

The overwhelming scope of the 2005 hurricane season challenged the Red Cross to develop innovative ways, such as the use of web-based technology, to help disaster victims communicate with loved ones outside of the disaster area. One month into the 2006 hurricane season, the Red Cross launched the Safe and Well Website to provide families with a tool to exchange welfare information with loved ones and friends in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

The Safe and Well Website, accessible via http://www.redcross.org, allows a disaster victim to select and post standard messages for friends and family that indicate the victim is safe and well at a shelter, home or hotel and will make contact when they are able. Those worried about the safety of their family member can access the Safe and Well Website, enter either the name and telephone number or name and complete address of the person in question and view their "safe and well" messages.

The Red Cross also works closely with several federal and local agencies that provide families with additional options to help with communication during times of emergency:

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides financial and direct services to those affected by a Presidentially declared disaster. Requirements must be met to qualify for help from this program. http://www.fema.gov

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children -- Serves as a clearinghouse on issues related to missing and exploited children. http://www.ncmec.org

United States Postal Service -- Provides continuing mail service for those displaced by disasters through change of address forms. Submitting a change of address form through the USPS ensures that mail will be redirected to a current address. http://www.usps.gov

National Next of Kin Registry -- An organization where the public can archive emergency point of contact information. Emergency agencies access the system when there is a need to locate next of kin in urgent situations. http://www.nokr.org

Community Voice Mail -- Provides free personalized phone number with voicemail to people in crisis and transition for job search, housing, healthcare and family contact. Current service in 38 cities via a network of 2,000+ social service agencies. Also provides voicemail service to those victims of a disaster that may be displaced from their homes and without a telephone. http://www.cvm.org

Contact Loved Ones -- Provides a free voice message service, accessible from any phone, to reestablish contact between those affected by a disaster and their loved ones and friends. http://www.contactlovedones.org

Preparing for a disaster, such as a hurricane, ahead of time can help alleviate the stress you may face during the storm, and ease the burden on your family and loved ones. For more information regarding how individuals and families can prepare for disasters visit http://www.redcross.org or contact your local Red Cross chapter.

The American Red Cross has helped people mobilize to help their neighbors for 125 years. Last year, victims of a record 72,883 disasters, most of them fires, turned to the nearly 1 million volunteers and 35,000 employees of the Red Cross for help and hope. Through more than 800 locally supported chapters, more than 15 million people each year gain the skills they need to prepare for and respond to emergencies in their homes, communities and world. Almost 4 million people give blood -- the gift of life -- through the Red Cross, making it the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The Red Cross helps thousands of U.S. service members separated from their families by military duty stay connected. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global network of more than 180 national societies, the Red Cross helps restore hope and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.