AMERICARES STEPS UP DISASTER RESPONSE FOR STORM-BATTERED SOUTH. - States News Service

STAMFORD, CT -- The following information was released by AmeriCares:

Dell Abercrombie holds her son, Memphis, as they prepare to spend the night in a Red Cross shelter following deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

AmeriCares will be there to help communities recover from this tragic disaster as residents rebuild their homes and their lives.'

-- Emergency responder, ET Theotokatos

The scope of the humanitarian crisis continues to grow in the South, after hundreds of powerful tornadoes ripped through seven states in late April, killing more than 350, crushing entire neighborhoods, and leaving tens of thousands homeless and displaced.

AmeriCares responded immediately and has since launched a prolonged tornado relief operation, including deliveries of medicines, humanitarian aid, and water to help families struggling to recover and rebuild.

One day after the killer twisters struck, AmeriCares dispatched a relief expert to impact areas to mobilize emergency aid to health care providers, shelters and food banks serving communities in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas:

Emergency medical aid for safety net clinics: Two targeted shipments were delivered to the Access Family Health Clinic, in Smithville, MS, including medicines to treat patients with cardiac, gastrointestinal and respiratory ailments, bandages, hygiene items and cleaning supplies. A third shipment of medicines and emergency aid is now underway to help the town, which was leveled by a deadly 205 mph tornado.

Clinic recovery grants: Access Family Health Clinic was awarded a $30,000 AmeriCares grant to fund a temporary facility to treat patients while heavy damages to the clinic are repaired. A similar grant is under review for an Arkansas clinic.

Targeted assistance: The Interfaith Clinic in Conway, AR, received a shipment of cleaning supplies for families trying to salvage the remains of their homes, along with blankets and hygiene items for those left homeless. A second shipment is underway.

Eight truckloads of water totaling of 352,000 bottles from Nestle Water North America have been sent to impact areas. 256,000 have arrived at food banks in Alabama and Tennessee, 96,000 bottles will be delivered to the Salvation Army for shelters in both states, and 3,200 are going to an Alabama clinic.

New emergency aid shipments: A shipment of chronic care medications and emergency aid is being prepared for distribution the M-Power Clinic in Birmingham, AL. Several more shipments are being readied for health care providers in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. A delivery of medication and supplies is being prepared for a free clinic in Missouri. A third shipment of aid, including diabetes test strips is bound for the Helping Hand Clinic in Sanford, NC.

One of the dozens of houses destroyed by the tornado in Smithville

As part of its ongoing relief effort, AmeriCares is handling aid requests through the National Association of Community Health Centers and National Association of Free Clinics to help serve victims of the worst national disaster since Hurricane Katrina.

'AmeriCares will be there to help communities recover as residents rebuild their homes and their lives,' said emergency relief worker, ET Theotokatos

Meanwhile, AmeriCares is assessing need in affected communities along the Mississippi River bracing for severe flooding.

AmeriCares responds immediately to disasters: tornadoes in the South, hurricanes in the Gulf, floods in the Pacific Northwest, wild fires in the West. Wherever disaster strikes in the U.S. and around the world, we are ready to help save lives and restore health and hope