Press Release 05/47
Geneva (ICRC) - Thousands of people in the United States and elsewhere have lost contact with loved ones following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working closely with the American Red Cross (ARC), has launched a special webpage to help those seeking to re-establish contact with family members and friends. The service is available for people living in the United States or elsewhere in the world.
People in the disaster area can register on the webpage to inform their family and friends that they are safe and provide their current contact details, while those looking for loved ones in the disaster area can check the list for information. They can also register the names of family members and friends, encouraging them to get in touch.
The webpage can be accessed via www.familylinks.icrc.org French and Spanish versions of the webpage should be available by 3 September.
The humanitarian service provided by the webpage is open to everyone. However, neither the ICRC nor the ARC nor any other Red Cross or Red Crescent Society is in a position to verify the accuracy of the information posted on the webpage, nor can they be held responsible for the way third parties make use of this information. The ICRC and ARC therefore urge everyone to use this service responsibly, in good faith and strictly in accordance with its humanitarian objective.
For more information on how to use the service, members of the public should contact their nearest Red Cross or Red Crescent office.
People who have re-established contact with their family members or friends and therefore wish their names to be removed from the list should follow the instructions provided on the webpage.
For further information, please contact:
Simon Schorno, ICRC Washington, tel. ++1 202 293 94 30 / ++1 202 431 69 06
Ian Piper, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 79 217 20 63 / ++41 79 217 32 16 (3-4 September)
Florian Westphal, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 29 30 / ++41 79 217 32 26 (5 September onwards)
American Red Cross media office, tel. ++1 202 303 55 51