Reported Red Cross Failure

Local residents cross high water to escape the flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (Erich Schlegel/Getty Images).

It was reported the Red Cross didn't show up as promised to the most damaged zones. Houston City Councilman Dave Martin let loose on the charity for being the “most inept, unorganized organization I've ever experienced.” Martin urged Houstonians not to donate. “I have not seen a single person in Kingwood or Clear Lake that's a representative of the Red Cross,” he said, referring to two hard-hit areas. “You know who opened our shelters? We did. You know who sent water and supplies? We did.”

A baby sits with family belongings in a shelter at a furniture store during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 30, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

In an interview with ProPublica, Martin said he ran into Gail McGovern, the charity’s CEO, in a parking lot several days after Harvey hit. When he raised his concerns to her, Martin said she responded: “Do you know how much we raised with Katrina? $2 billion. We won’t even raise hundreds of millions here.’ I just thought, ‘Really, Gail? That’s your response to me?’”

Asked about McGovern’s conversation with the city councilman, the Red Cross said, “We understand his frustration.” The charity said it has raised around $350 million for Harvey.

As ProPublica has previously detailed, the charity’s attempts to respond to large disasters in recent years have been harshly criticized by victims, government officials and, in many cases, by the Red Cross’ own staff. Reconstruction efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake fell far short of the charity’s public claims. After Superstorm Sandy hit New York in 2012, Red Cross leadership diverted disaster relief resources for public-relations purposes. And after floods in Louisiana, a state official wrote that the Red Cross “failed for 12 days.”

Full Sauce: https://www.propub3r6espa33w.onion/article/texas-official-after-harvey-the-red-cross-was-not-there