RedR Canada rushes to help relief effort in South Asia

RedR Canada is pressing hard to start sending people to the disaster-hit areas of South Asia, following the massive tidal disaster on Sunday.
Kirk Thompson, executive director of RedR Canada, the organization established in Canada two years ago to recruit experienced engineers for disaster relief, said that RedR is “deep into it,” when contacted by phone. They are working the phones, have sent a notice to all their members and are asking anyone interested in volunteering to go and help to send in their updated resumes. They are particularly interested in people who have first-hand experience in relief operations.
An estimated 100,000 people are dead in a dozen nations surrounding the Indian Ocean after a wall of water flooded coastal areas. The tsunami was caused by an earthquake deep below the surface of the ocean. The energy released was said to equal the explosion of 1,000 nuclear bombs. Countries worst affected include Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and Indonesia.
The United Nations now says that the most urgent task is providing clean drinking water and health care for the millions of people who have survived but are now in danger of falling ill due to diseases like cholera and dysentary.
RedR is aligned with the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada (ACEC) and the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers and is part of an international network.
Thompson believes Canada needs to be better prepared to respond to these kinds of crises. He says that if we could act a lot faster to send relief, we could save more lives.
RedR has established a special relief fund on its website, www.redr.ca.