The American Red Cross of the St. Louis region is sending more volunteers and more emergency response vehicles to the East Coast to aid relief efforts caused by Hurricane Sandy.
In the relief efforts, thousands of local volunteers will be aiding relief in 13 states: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, Indiana, and Ohio.
 Last night, 9,000 people sought refuge at more than 170 Red Cross Shelters across the Northeast region. Red Cross, Ameren, and Enterprise have collected nearly $55,000 in donations for disaster relief efforts, but the Red Cross stresses the need for more donations to aid in recovery.
 The storm also caused the cancellation of hundreds of Red Cross blood drives resulting in a loss of more than 10,000 blood products. Missourians are urged to donate blood by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or visiting www.redcrossblood.org.
