Nicholas to Bring Devastating Flooding to Gulf Coast

The American Red Cross and our partners are on the ground along the Gulf Coast offering safe refuge and support to people impacted by Tropical Storm Nicholas, which is predicted to bring dangerous flooding to Texas, Alabama and Louisiana over the next several days.

Life-threatening flash flooding is possible in many urban areas and communities along the Texas coast are already flooded. As many as 333,000 customers in Texas are without power. In Louisiana, the storm could drop as much as 20 inches of rain on the same areas devastated by Hurricane Ida just two weeks ago.

FINDING SHELTER Anyone in the affected areas that needs a safe place to stay should visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or download the free Red Cross Emergency app for shelter locations. People in Louisiana can call 211, text LASHELTER to 898-211 or text NOLAREADY to 77295. Download the Emergency app by searching “American Red Cross” in your app store or by going to redcross.org/apps.

To help keep everybody safe, everyone in Red Cross emergency shelters is required to wear face coverings. In addition, we’re using health screenings, enhanced cleaning procedures and encouraging social distancing.

We encourage people who plan to stay in a Red Cross shelter to bring prescription medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, other comfort items and important documents. Don’t forget to bring any special items for children, such as diapers, formula and toys, or for family members who have unique needs.

Red Cross shelters are open to everyone in need, regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or citizenship status. All disaster assistance is free, and we don’t require people to show any kind of identification to enter a shelter — just their name and where they were living before the disaster.

Make sure to include your pets as part of your emergency plan. The Red Cross is unable to welcome pets into our shelters for everyone’s safety. If you are evacuating with pets, please consider visiting RedRover.org to view their resource list of pet-friendly lodgings and tips.

HOW YOU CAN HELP You can help people affected by disasters like storms, home fires and countless other crises by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS 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. Financial donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster.

The Red Cross also urges individuals in unaffected areas of the country to make an appointment to give blood to ensure a sufficient blood supply remains available for patients. Schedule a blood or platelet donation appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor app, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733- 2767).

FLOODING SAFETY

• Turn around, don’t drown! Stay off the roads. If you must drive and you encounter a flooded roadway, turn around and go another way.
  
• Follow evacuation routes and do not try to take shortcuts because they may be blocked.
  
• If you are staying home, decide your best protection for high winds and flooding. Take shelter in a designated storm shelter or an interior room for high winds.
  
• Stay away from glass windows and doors.
  
• If you live in an area prone to flooding, move to higher ground before flooding begins.
  
• Tune into your local radio, NOAA radio or news channels for the latest updates.
  
• Stay away from floodwaters. Beware of snakes, insects and other animals that may be in or around floodwaters and your home.
  
• Keep children and pets away from hazardous sites and floodwaters.
  
• If power lines are down, don’t step in puddles or standing water.

POWER OUTAGE SAFETY

• Use flashlights in the dark — not candles.
  
• Eliminate unnecessary travel, especially by car. Traffic lights will be out and roads will likely be congested.
  
• Turn off and unplug all unnecessary electrical equipment and appliances. When power comes back on, surges or spikes can damage equipment.
  
• Leave one light on, so you’ll know when power is restored.
  
• 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. Full generator safety information is available here.
  
• During a prolonged outage, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to protect your food.
  
  • Use perishable food from the refrigerator first, then, food from the freezer.
    
  • If the power outage continues 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.
    

CORPORATIONS, FOUNDATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS HELP The generous donations from members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and the Disaster Responder Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process.

ADGP $1 Million members are: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; The Home Depot Foundation; Latter-day Saint Charities; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Truist Foundation; VSP Global; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and Wells Fargo.

ADGP $500,000 members are: Altria Group; Aon; Capital One; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Delta Dental Community Care Foundation; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company Fund; Fox Corporation; General Motors; HCA Healthcare; International Paper; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; LHC Group; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mastercard; Merck Foundation; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; Salesforce; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stanley Black & Decker; Takeda Pharmaceutical; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; The USAA Foundation, Inc.; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; and The Wawa Foundation.

Disaster Responder Program members are: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; Alliance Data; American Express; Ameriprise Financial, Inc.; Assurant; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; The Ball Foundation; Barclays; Big 5 Sporting Goods; CarMax; Choice Hotels International; Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Company; CSX; Darden Foundation; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Duke Energy; Equitable; FirstEnergy Foundation; Grainger; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; Humble Bundle; Kaiser Permanente; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Marathon Petroleum Foundation, Inc.; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Northrop Grumman; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Old Dominion Freight Line; Procter & Gamble; Prudential Financial; Raytheon Technologies; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Foundation; Ross Stores Foundation; Ryder System, Inc.; San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; Southwest Airlines; U-Haul International; and U.S. Bank Foundation.