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Each year, the American Red Cross responds immediately to more
than 60,000 disasters, including house or apartment fires (the
majority of disaster responses), hurricanes, floods, earthquakes,
tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, transportation accidents,
explosions, and other natural and man-made disasters.
Although the American Red Cross is not a government agency, its
authority to provide disaster relief was formalized when, in 1905,
the Red Cross was chartered by Congress to "carry on a system
of national and international relief in time of peace and apply
the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence,
famine, fire, floods, and other great national calamities, and to
devise and carry on measures for preventing the same." The
Charter is not only a grant of power, but also an imposition of
duties and obligations to the nation, to disaster victims, and to
the people who generously support its work with their donations.
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