Red Crossers Helping as Atmospheric Rivers Threaten West Coast Through the Holidays

Two women hugging, one in Red Cross vest

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Red Cross volunteer Yarisa Jarcoh, Portland, Oregon, shares a hug with Concrete, Washington resident Diane Sipe. Diane is among the thousands of residents of western Washington who have been impacted by recent flooding that devastated the region. “I’m just trying to do what I can to help my neighbors,” Diane said. The Red Cross has been in Concrete and the surrounding areas handing out clean-up kits, food, supplies, and more. “It helps a lot,” Diane said. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

man in Red Cross vest looks out over floodwater

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Red Cross volunteer Ryan Lang, Akron, Ohio, surveys the damage caused by flooding along Hamilton Avenue in Hamilton, Washington. Residents were evacuated from their homes, many dealing with flooding’s devastation for the second time in about four years. Rivers overflowed their banks in 2021 in some of the same communities that are once again under water. The Red Cross and partners have mobilized across western Washington to bring urgent relief, including food, shelter, supplies, and more, to those affected by the catastrophic floods. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

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“You need a hug.” Red Cross volunteer Nancy Dile, St. Petersburg, Florida, comforts Hamilton, Washington resident Roy Stood as he and his neighbors begin to clean up after devastating floods forced the community to evacuate. Roy is no stranger to flooding, having lived through six major floods in his lifetime in Hamilton. “These are really good people,” Roy said, speaking about his friends and neighbors. “When someone needs something, they’re there for them.” The Red Cross, meanwhile, continues to provide support to Roy and thousands of other residents of western Washington, including shelter, food, supplies, and more. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

man in Red Cross vest delivers boxes to woman at her front door

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Red Cross volunteers from across the U.S. have deployed to western Washington to help people impacted by the recent flooding there. Volunteers like Harry Ladewig (right), from Denver, Colorado, who is hand delivering boxes of shelf-stable food items to Carrie Sterk of Sumas, Washington. Carrie and her family stayed in their home, choosing not to evacuate during the flooding. "It was like a river washing down the street. We watched our cars in our lot slowly get filled with water,” she said. Since the floods Carrie says the community has really come together. “We've had so much support. It's a very special community,” she said. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

man in Red Cross vest interacts with infant in a shelter

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Volunteer Deb Blaze, from California, takes a moment with three-month-old Natasha Cools, the youngest resident at the Red Cross shelter at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. Natasha and her family were displaced by historic flooding that left their home and the homes of thousands of others destroyed or otherwise damaged. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

man in Red Cross vest hands another man cleaning supplies

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Volunteer Ron Almeter hands off supplies to Snohomish, Washington resident Pio Rogelio Camacho, whose home was severely damaged by historic flooding that devastated western Washington. Pio and his neighbors at the Three Rivers Mobile Home Park are working to clean up after the floods, but it is a long road ahead. Some of these residents haven’t been back since being evacuated and don’t know what they’ll be coming home to. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

woman in Red Cross clothing speaks to another woman through the door of her home

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Spiritual care volunteer Andrea Webb, from New Jersey, speaks with Snohomish, Washington resident Steven Baldwin, whose home at the Three Rivers Mobile Park Home was impacted by historic flooding that devastated western Washington. Steven is among the dozens of residents who had to evacuate the mobile park home after the floods. This is a difficult time for everyone affected and volunteers like Andrea are there to help. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

Red Cross volunteer talks with another woman in a shelter

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Volunteer Deb Blaze, from California, is one of several hundred disaster volunteers who have deployed to Washington to help. Here, she shares a moment with Traci Smith, from Snohomish, Washington. Traci and her two dogs were displaced when the flooding left their home under water. “The Red Cross has been great,” Traci said, “and Deb makes sure I have what I need.” The volunteers are working around the clock, providing shelter, food and more, but sometimes it’s just taking a moment to be present with these residents who have been through so much. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

Red Cross volunteer interacts with a cow in an animal shelter

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Volunteer pet liaison Lindsay Morin, from Vermont, feeds a carrot snack to one the Evergreen State Fairgrounds livestock residents. The fairgrounds opened up their property to not just residents and their pets, but to dozens of goats, pigs, horses, chickens and other animals that were displaced by historic flooding. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

Red Crosser carries cleaning supplies for flooding victim

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Red Crosser Ron Almeter carries a tote filled with cleaning supplies for Snohomish, Washington resident Mario Modina Fierro, whose home was severely damaged by the historic flooding that devastated western Washington. Mario and his neighbors at the Three Rivers Mobile Home Park are working to clean up after the floods, but it is a long road ahead. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

December 19, 2025

You can help by making a donation to Red Cross Disaster Relief
Visit redcross.org, call 1- 800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999

The American Red Cross is responding across several states as millions of people on the West Coast deal with the onslaught of nonstop atmospheric rivers causing flooding, landslides and power outages across the region, a situation expected to continue through the end of the year.

Tens of thousands of customers are without electricity after strong winds downed trees and knocked out power. Heavy rains have rivers back up to flood levels and landslides are cutting off communities, especially near areas scarred by wildfires.

As western Washington begins to clean up after the recent flooding there, the atmospheric rivers are moving south to Oregon and California over the next several days. Unfortunately, strong storms could hit California on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

RED CROSS RESPONSE As the situation continues to evolve, the Red Cross and partners continue to help after the flooding in Washington and are opening shelters in Colorado, Montana and Oregon as these new storms hit the West Coast. Read more about the situation in Washington here.

With the winter holidays on the horizon, the Red Cross pre-staged relief supplies and emergency response vehicles near potential impact areas to support a quick response if needed. Disaster response leadership teams and disaster volunteers are ready to deploy.

In Washington, more than 300 trained Red Cross volunteers and partners have mobilized throughout 10 counties to bring urgent relief to people affected by last week’s catastrophic flooding. Since shelters were opened for this disaster, the Red Cross and our partners have provided more than 1,500 overnight stays in 20 emergency shelters. We have also provided more than 14,600 meals and snacks and distributed almost 3,000 relief supplies.

HOW YOU CAN HELP You can help by making a financial donation to Red Cross Disaster Relief, or scheduling a blood donation appointment now. Visit redcross.org, call 1- 800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a financial donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small, whenever and wherever they occur across the country.

Severe weather coupled with the threat of flooding along the entire West Coast and the upcoming holidays, all are leading to a significant decline in blood donor turnout this month. Blood drives have been delayed or cancelled, causing thousands of blood donations to go uncollected. Blood types O, A- and B- are especially needed. Schedule a time to give blood by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

USEFUL LINKS Visit these links to find important information on how to find a shelter, how to get ready, and what steps you should follow to help keep you and your loved ones safe.

Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) Thanks to the dedicated commitment of our American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder members, the Red Cross stands ready to act at a moment’s notice. Their forward-thinking generosity keeps us prepared for crises of all kinds, ensuring we can be there wherever and whenever we’re needed most.

Mission Leader Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Bank of America; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Costco Wholesale; Dollar General; Lowe's; State Farm

ADGP Leaders: Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Caterpillar Foundation; Chick-fil-A; CMA CGM Foundation; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Honda; Lilly Endowment Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Merck; Nationwide Foundation; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo Foundation

ADGP Members: ALDI; Altria Group; Aon; Baxter International Foundation; Bread Financial; Capital One; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; Edison International Foundation; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; GE Aerospace Foundation; General Motors; Google.org; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; ; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Mastercard; Microsoft; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Foundation; NTT Data; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Southeastern Grocers and the SEG Gives Foundation; Stryker; Suburban Propane; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Wingstop Restaurants; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Program Members: 3M; 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Aflac; The Allstate Foundation; American Family Insurance; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco and Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; DENSO North America Foundation; DHL Supply Chain; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Dollar Tree; Duke Energy; Elevance Health Foundation; Eli Lilly and Company Foundation; Equitable ; Erie Insurance; Fastenal; Grainger; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; John Deere; Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation ; L’Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo ; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Martin Marietta; Masco Corporation; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Mutual of Omaha Foundation; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Nike Foundation; Norfolk Southern; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis US Foundation; Old Dominion Freight Line; Oxy; Pacific Life Foundation; Prudential; QBE Foundation; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Stephens; Tennant Company; Toyota Tsusho America, Inc.; Uber; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; Yum! Brands; Zurich

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.