News Summary:

• The American Red Cross is helping around the clock in Hawaii where thousands of people are dealing with catastrophic flooding brought on by days of heavy rain, the result of a series of Kona Low storms.
• With officials and partners, Red Cross teams are providing a safe place to stay, food to eat and emotional support during this challenging time.
• Find shelter locations on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). You can also follow your local Red Cross or emergency officials on social media, sign up for free local government alerts or monitor local news.
• Help people affected by disasters like floods, storms and countless other crises by making a donation to Red Cross Disaster Relief. You can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1- 800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. 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.

The American Red Cross is helping around the clock in Hawaii where thousands of people are dealing with catastrophic flooding brought on by days of heavy rain, the result of a series of Kona Low storms.

As the storms begin to move out of the area, the damage they left behind is being uncovered. More than a foot of rain fell in some communities, causing flooding which has torn homes from their foundations, damaged roads, led to hundreds of water rescues and forced the evacuation of a hospital which received extensive damage.

On Maui, an evacuation advisory was issued for some Lahaina neighborhoods. Parts of those neighborhoods were burned by the massive wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina in 2023.

RED CROSS RESPONSE The Red Cross and partners have been responding to severe weather in the area for roughly two weeks, focused on sheltering, feeding and providing comfort. To date, we have had 565 people across 18 different shelters.

As weather improves, teams will continue damage assessment and distribution of emergency supplies. Right now, as many as 130 disaster-trained Red Crossers are responding (both in-person and virtually) to our disaster operation, the majority from the local area.

FIND A SHELTER  We encourage anyone who needs aid to come to a shelter. Find shelter locations on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). You can also follow your local Red Cross or emergency officials on social media, sign up for free local government alerts or monitor local news.

You don’t have to stay overnight to get help. Anyone affected is welcome to stop by for a hot meal, to charge their phone and get other support. Red Cross shelters are open to everyone in need, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability or citizenship status.

All disaster assistance is free. 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 fires. If possible, we encourage people who plan to stay in a shelter to bring prescription medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, other comfort items and important documents.

We do everything we can to accommodate service animals and pets comfortably in our shelters. Sometimes, pets may need to be housed in a different location with support from local partners.

HOW YOU CAN HELP This devastating flooding has impacted thousands of people who need assistance now. Help people affected by disasters like floods, storms and countless other crises by making a donation to Red Cross Disaster Relief.

You can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1- 800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. 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.

You can also help by becoming a volunteer.

Sign up here today and be part of the solution. If you are in Hawaii and want to help, more volunteers are needed immediately to help with sheltering and community care. No experience needed. Rapid training will be provided. Call 808‑734‑2101 ext. 4 or sign up now at https://rdcrss.org/3Pl0fbc.

FLOOD SAFETY Be prepared to evacuate immediately if local officials ask you to do so. Don’t return home until they say it is safe.

• Turn around, don’t drown! Don’t walk, swim or drive through floodwaters.
• Stay off the roads. If you must drive and you encounter a flooded roadway, turn around and go another way.
• Follow evacuation routes and don’t try to take shortcuts because they may be blocked.
• If you’re caught on a flooded road and waters are rising around you, quickly get out of the car, move to higher ground and stay there.
• Check with loved ones and neighbors to see if they need help.

After a flood:

• Don’t return home until officials say it is safe.
• Stay away from floodwaters, which may contain sewage, sharp items, bacteria and chemicals that can make you sick.
• Cleaning up after a flood can be overwhelming. Be cautious and take care of yourself.
• Wear protective clothing, including long pants, boots, work gloves and an N95 respirator to protect your lungs.
• Watch out for debris and avoid fallen power lines, poles and wires.
• Don’t touch electrical equipment if it’s wet or if you’re standing in water.
• Flooding can contaminate drinking water. Follow the advice of local public health officials to protect yourself. Throw out food that got wet or warm. When in doubt, throw it out!
• If your home was flooded, completely dry your home and everything in it as quickly as possible to help prevent mold. Keep wet areas well-ventilated and throw away wet materials that can’t be repaired or dried.

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.

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.; Mastercard; McDonald’s Corporation; Merck; Nationwide Foundation; PetSmart Charities; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; Wells Fargo Foundation

ADGP Members: ALDI; The Allstate Foundation; Altria Group; Aon; Baxter International Foundation; Bread Financial; Capital One; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; Edison International Foundation; Elevance Health 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; Microsoft; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Foundation; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; Stryker; Suburban Propane; Target; The Winn-Dixie Company; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Wingstop Restaurants; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Program Members: 3M; 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Aflac; Albemarle Corporation; The Allstate Foundation; American Family Insurance; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Blue Cross Blue Shield Association; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; 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; Eli Lilly and Company Foundation; Enbridge; Equitable ; Erie Insurance; Farmers 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 Groupe; 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; Old Dominion Freight Line; Old Republic International Corporation; Oxy; Pacific Life Foundation; Phillips 66; Prudential; QBE Foundation; Qualcomm; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reynolds American Inc.; RGA Foundation; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Sunbelt Rentals; T-Mobile; Tennant Company; Toyota Tsusho America, Inc.; Uber; U-Haul International; Uber; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; Westlake Corporation; Yum! Brands; Zurich