1.4 Million without Power as Zeta Heads Out to Sea

What was Hurricane Zeta has for the most part moved out to sea, but 1.4 million customers are still without power today from Louisiana north to Virginia. The American Red Cross is responding from Louisiana to the Carolinas while continuing to help thousands of people struggling to recover from Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Sally which devastated some of the same areas along the Gulf Coast.

Overnight 65 people sought refuge in emergency lodging in Mississippi. As many as 150 Red Cross disaster workers are helping on the ground or virtually. The Red Cross is helping with damage assessment and is working with state and local emergency officials to determine what other help is needed.

Zeta is the fifth named storm to make landfall in Louisiana this year, preceded by Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta, Tropical Storm Cristobal and Tropical Storm Marco. It is the 27th named storm in what has been an extremely busy Atlantic hurricane season.

RESPONSE CONTINUES FOR EARLIER HURRICANES

Hundreds of Red Cross disaster workers are still responding along the Gulf Coast as people struggle to recover from Hurricanes Laura, Sally and Delta. Almost 4,000 people remain in emergency lodging from these storms and in all hundreds of thousands of overnight stays have been provided. The Red Cross and partners have served almost two million meals and snacks, and distributed hundreds of thousands of relief items. Red Cross disaster workers have also made thousands of individual care contacts to help people with medical or disability needs or provide emotional and spiritual support during these challenging times. The Red Cross has also provided more than 9,800 households with emergency financial assistance to help them replace essential items and begin to recover after hurricanes

SAFETY STEPS

• If the power is out, use flashlights in the dark — not candles. Turn off and unplug all unnecessary electrical equipment. Turn off or disconnect any appliances — such as stoves — equipment and electronics that you were using when the power went out. When power comes back on, surges or spikes can damage equipment. Leave one light on, so you’ll know when power is restored.
• During a prolonged outage, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to protect your food. First, use perishable food from the refrigerator. Perishables are safe to eat when they have a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Then, use food from the freezer. If the power outage will continue beyond a day, prepare a cooler with ice for your freezer items. Keep food in a dry, cool spot and cover it at all times.
• If you are using a generator, keep it dry and don’t use it in wet conditions. Never use a generator, grill, camp stove or other gasoline, propane, natural gas or charcoal-burning devices inside a home, garage, basement, crawlspace or any partially enclosed area. Keep these devices outside away from doors, windows and vents, which could allow carbon monoxide to come indoors. Operate the generator on a dry surface under an open canopy-like structure, such as under a tarp held up by poles. Don’t touch a generator with wet hands. Turn the generator off and let it cool down before refueling. Gasoline spilled on hot engine parts could ignite. Plug appliances directly into the generator. Never plug a generator into a wall outlet

HOW YOU CAN HELP You can help people affected by Hurricane Zeta by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800 REDCROSS or texting the word ZETA to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.