New England Starting to Feel Effects of Hurricane Lee

Millions of people in New England are under hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings today as Hurricane Lee nears, bringing the possibility of wind damage, flooding and power outages to the region. The American Red Cross is closely monitoring Hurricane Lee’s movement and has pre-positioned disaster teams and relief supplies to be ready to support communities who may be impacted by the storm.

Weather conditions will worsen in the Northeast and Canada today and landfall is expected Saturday along either the Maine or Nova Scotia coasts. Lee is expected to weaken, but will still be a large, dangerous storm as it hits New England. Because it is so large, heavy rain, damaging winds and flooding may impact areas far from the storm’s center. Right now, winds are affecting weather as far away as 320 miles from Lee’s center.

Maine is likely to see the worst effects of the storm in the United States, with strong winds, heavy rain and a powerful storm surge and the governor has declared a state of emergency. Officials in other areas, including the city of Boston and parts of Long Island, are preparing as the storm nears.

YOU CAN HELP Even as we prepare for Lee, the Red Cross remains on the ground helping communities recover from Hurricane Idalia in the Southeast and the deadliest wildfires of the last century in Hawaii, among other regional disasters. You can help people affected by disasters like storms, wildfires and countless other crises by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief.

Financial contributions enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

RED CROSS GETS READY The Red Cross is closely monitoring weather conditions and preparing to respond as Hurricane Lee nears landfall along the New England coast. We have deployed disaster teams and supplies to be ready to support communities who may be impacted by the storm.

We are deploying enough workers and supplies to be able to help thousands of people. This includes as many as 25 shelter teams and 40 Red Cross emergency vehicles standing ready to support a large relief response. Additional volunteers and emergency supplies are on standby in case they are needed. The Red Cross has also pre-positioned blood products in the region in advance of the storm and stands ready to provide additional blood products if hospitals need support. 

Large storm systems often force the cancellation of blood drives in affected areas. The Red Cross is already experiencing a national blood shortage. Donors of all blood types are urgently needed and there is an emergency need for platelet donors and type O blood donors. The Red Cross urges eligible individuals to give blood and help ensure we can meet the needs of patients whenever and wherever they arise. Schedule an appointment to donate today using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/espanol or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO Take these steps to get your household ready.

• Create an evacuation plan. Plan what to do in case you are separated from your family during an emergency and if you have to evacuate. Coordinate your plan with your child’s school, your work and your community’s emergency plans. Plan multiple routes to local shelters, register family members with special medical needs as required and make plans for pets. If you already have an emergency plan, update it and review with family members so everyone knows what to do if an emergency occurs.

• Build an emergency kit with a gallon of water per person, per day, non-perishable food, a flashlight, battery-powered radio, first aid kit, medications, supplies for an infant and pets if applicable, a multi-purpose tool, personal hygiene items, copies of important papers, cell phone chargers, extra cash, blankets, maps of the area and emergency contact information. If you already have a disaster kit, now is the time make sure the food and water is still okay to consume and that copies of important documents are up to date.

• Be informed. Find out how local officials will contact you during a disaster and how you will get important information, such as evacuation orders.

• Download the free Red Cross First Aid app so you’ll know what to do if emergency help is delayed and the free Emergency app for weather alerts, open Red Cross shelter locations and safety steps for different emergencies. Choose whether you want to view the content in English or Spanish with an easy-to-find language selector. Find these and all of the Red Cross apps in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps.

• Standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flooding. It’s important to have protection from the floods associated with hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rains and other conditions that impact the U.S. For more information on flood insurance, please visit the National Flood Insurance Program website at www.FloodSmart.gov.

• It’s critical to listen to the advice of local authorities and evacuate immediately if asked to do so. Tune into your local radio, NOAA radio or news channel for the latest updates. We encourage safety and being out of harm’s way above all.

• It’s also important to know the difference between a watch and a warning. A watch means conditions are likely and to stay alert — a warning means act now.

• Follow these safety steps for hurricane conditions, if flooding affects your neighborhood, if the power goes out.

IF YOU NEED SHELTER In the coming days, emergency shelters are likely to open in some areas. Anyone who needs a safe place to go can find information about open shelters on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). You can also check with local officials and monitor local news for information on where to find emergency shelter.

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.

The climate crisis, according to scientists, is making hurricanes worse in the United States by increasing their intensity. As extreme weather increases, more people need help from the Red Cross. Find out more about the Red Cross and its work on the climate crisis at redcross.org/climate.

Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) Through the generosity of our American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder members, the American Red Cross is prepared before disaster strikes. ADGP and Disaster Responder members help secure a reliable funding base for disaster relief services that enables the Red Cross to respond immediately, meeting the needs of individuals and families affected by disaster, regardless of cost.

ADGP $1M Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Best Buy; Caterpillar Foundation; Costco Wholesale ; Delta Air Lines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; PayPal; PetSmart Charities; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo

ADGP $500k Members: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bread Financial; Capital One; CarMax; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; Dollar General; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company Fund; Fox Corporation; General Motors; Google.org; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; International Paper; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; Kaiser Permanente; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mastercard; Merck; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; Salesforce; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation

Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; The AES Corporation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation Barclays; Big 5 Sporting Goods; Build-A-Bear Foundation; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Choice Hotels International; Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; DHL Supply Chain; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Duke Energy; Dutch Bros Foundation; Equitable; FirstEnergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; LHC Group; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Foundation, Inc.; Martin Marietta; Mattress Firm; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; The Middleby Corporation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Northrop Grumman; Northwestern Mutual; Old Dominion Freight Line; Organon; Pacific Life Foundation; Prudential; Raytheon Technologies; Reckitt; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Project, a project of New Venture Fund; Ross Stores Foundation; Ryder System, Inc.; Santander; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Tata Consultancy Services; U-Haul International; Zurich