The American Red Cross announced on Monday that its disaster-relief fund is depleted and that it is borrowing money to pay for flood-relief efforts in the Midwest, reports The Washington Post.
While the Red Cross did not disclose the amount of debt accumulated for the Midwest aid effort, or the fund’s overall debt, the organization has already spent $15-million helping those affected by the Midwest flooding and may spend more than $40-million if the Mississippi River floods St. Louis later this week.
The organization, which maintains its headquarters in Washington, first took on loans in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, borrowing $430-million, which it repaid by raising $2.1-billion in the months following the storm. The charity’s disaster-relief fund is currently empty.
“It’s a continuous series of storms and disasters that have led us to where we are today,” said Joe Becker, senior vice president for disaster services, who noted that the organization has had to deal with 30 midsize disasters since Katrina.
What’s more, the group said, the lack of a major disaster like Katrina has made it hard to galvanize donors to give, as has the troubled economy.
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