CUNA Sets Emergency DisasterHotline

ORLANDO, Fla. - (06/13/06) – As tropical storm Alberto wasrapidly approaching the Florida coast, CUNA announced Monday at itannual Future Forum the launch of a toll-free number credit unionmembers may call throughout the U.S. to find out the status of thecredit union during natural disasters. CUNA Strategic Services saidthe service, available at 1-877-CU-LOCATE, has already beenprogrammed to accommodate every credit union in the U.S. Memberswill be able to call the number, and then choose a menu to find thecorrect mailbox for their respective credit union. The credit unionwill be responsible for updating information, such as any newlocation at which the credit union is operating, branch status,changes in hours, etc. The suite of services, conducted inconjunction with VoiceGard, is part of a disaster responseinitiative developed in the wake of the 2005 hurricane seasons whengiant storms like Katrina and Rita knocked out hundreds of creditunions and their branches.