Disaster Action Team

A Disaster Action Team is the local disaster response unit in chapters of the American Red Cross.

An American Red Cross Disaster Action Team responding to a house fire in Detroit, Michigan

American Red Cross chapters have Disaster Action Teams (commonly called "DATs"), which provide disaster relief services on an on-call basis. They may provide free emergency food, clothing and shelter assistance,^[1] and assist disaster victims in planning their immediate and long-term recovery from disaster.^[2]

The teams are composed of American Red Cross Disaster Services volunteers^[3] who have received training in disaster assessment, client casework and other skills.^[4] Many larger chapters in metropolitan areas have multiple Disaster Action Teams on call at any given time to respond to disasters in their communities.

Disaster Action Teams do not commonly respond to disasters outside their chapter's area of responsibility, which are managed by the American Red Cross's national Disaster Services Human Resources system.

References

1. "Apartment fire displaces four Alorton families"^{[permanent dead link]} Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved 2011-10-11
2. "Regional DAT Page" Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine. American Red Cross, Los Angeles Region. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
3. "Volunteer Opportunities"^{[permanent dead link]} American Red Cross. Retrieved 2011-10-11
4. "Disaster Action Team Manual" Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine(PDF) American Red Cross, Greater Toledo Chapter. Retrieved 2011-10-11.