Hurricane Isaias: Red Cross Helping as Power Outages Continue

Pallets of relief supplies are stacked up in a large warehouse

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The Red Cross has prepositioned shelter supplies and shelf-stable meals in Union City, Georgia ahead of Hurricane Isaias’ arrival.

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Red Cross trailers stand by in Union City, Georgia, waiting to move relief supplies into the affected areas ahead of Hurricane Isaias.

Volunteers load relief supplies into a vehicle.

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Regional Mass Care Manager Mark Donahue and two volunteers load up supplies in the Capital Area Chapter to send to Northwest Florida for Hurricane Isaias relief operations.

Volunteers load relief supplies into trucks.

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Randy Barkley, Jim Geuin and Tina McCoy load pallets into trucks heading from the Capital Area chapter to Northwest Florida ahead of Hurricane Isaias.

A group of people, many in Red Cross shirts, stand in front of Red Cross vehicles, listening to a man brief them on the disaster situation.

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After helping ensure residents had a safe place to shelter from the storm, the American Red Cross is preparing for the next phase of our response. As communities begin to assess the damage, Red Cross teams are working with local officials to identify where help is needed most and preparing to deliver essential supplies, meals and water to those impacted. Here, Red Cross disaster volunteers prepare their Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) to deliver supplies to affected neighborhoods. Red Cross photo by Amber Bierfreund.

A line of Red Cross emergency vehicles parked and ready to help.

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Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) are set to go in Florida, having come to help from across the country. They will be used to deliver meals, water and essential supplies to communities impacted by Hurricane Isaias. Red Cross photo by Amber Bierfreund

October 12, 2026

The American Red Cross remains on the ground, working with officials in Florida and Alabama to bring help to communities trying to recover from what was Hurricane Isaias.

More than 177,000 customers are still without power across Florida, Alabama and the Carolinas. In Florida alone, more than 150,000 customers are still without power, entire municipalities are under boil-water advisories and neighborhoods are beginning to clean up the damage Isaias left behind.

RED CROSS RESPONSE At the height of the storm, the Red Cross opened or supported 21 evacuation centers in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. The focus now is to support damage assessment and distribute meals and relief supplies where it is safe to do so.

In Florida, the Red Cross is working alongside emergency management officials and community partners to identify needs and get help to where it’s needed most. Red Cross disaster teams are out distributing food, water and essential supplies in heavily impacted communities, and will be setting up feeding sites where hot meals will be available. The Red Cross is also supporting damage assessment and will be participating in Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARCs) where people can access help from different sources gathered in one location.

In Alabama, Red Cross disaster workers are focused on helping people navigate the difficult days ahead. Coordinating with emergency officials, the Red Cross is helping to assess community needs and provide meals and other support where needed.

POWER OUT? SAFETY STEPS TO FOLLOW More than 177,000 customers are without power across Florida, Alabama and the Carolinas. There are steps they should follow while waiting for their electricity to return:

Unplug appliances and electronics to avoid damage from power surges. Leave one light on, so you’ll know when power is restored.
Use flashlights or battery-operated lanterns — not candles — to help avoid fires.
Don’t drive unless necessary. Traffic lights will be out, and roads could be congested.
Decide if you need to leave if your home is too hot or cold, or if you have medical devices that need power.
Check with loved ones and neighbors to see if they need help.

FOOD SAFETY To prevent illness, keep food cold. When in doubt, throw it out.

Eat fresh, perishable foods first.
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to help keep food cold. Use coolers with ice if necessary.
Measure the temperature in your refrigerator and freezer with a thermometer. Throw out perishable food that has been warmer than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

GENERATOR SAFETY If you’re using a generator, keep it dry and don’t use it in wet conditions.

Carbon monoxide kills. If you start to feel sick, dizzy or weak, get to fresh air right away.
Never use a generator, grill, camp stove or other gasoline, propane, natural gas or charcoal burning device inside a home, garage, basement or other partially enclosed area. Keep this type of equipment outside and away from doors, windows and vents.
Plug appliances directly into the generator. Never plug a generator into a wall outlet.
Operate the generator on a dry surface and don’t touch it with wet hands.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Isaias was the first hurricane to make landfall along a U.S. coastline since Hurricane Milton in October 2024. While the Atlantic hurricane seasons over the past two years were relatively quiet, other major disasters upended lives across the country and beyond. Devastating wildfires in Southern California, catastrophic flooding in Texas, Typhoon Halong in Alaska, and three powerful super typhoons that caused widespread destruction in Guam, Saipan and Tinian left communities reeling. Through it all, the Red Cross was there.

People look to the Red Cross for help during these devastating emergencies and we can’t do it alone. The generous support of our donors is critical to our ability to help people in need.

You can help people affected by disasters like storms, floods 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.

Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) Through the generosity of our Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder Program Members, the Red Cross is prepared before disaster strikes. These members help secure a reliable funding base for disaster relief services that enables us to respond immediately, meeting the needs of individuals and families affected by disaster, regardless of cost. Right now, the Red Cross is on the ground and taking action with the support of our valuable members.

Mission Leader Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Bank of America; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; The Coca-Cola Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Ford Philanthropy; Lowe's; State Farm®

ADGP Leaders: Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Caterpillar Foundation; Chick-fil-A; CMA CGM Foundation; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mastercard; McDonald’s Corporation; Merck; Nationwide Foundation; PetSmart Charities; The Pfizer Foundation; Ralph Lauren; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; Truist Foundation; USAA; Verizon; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; Wells Fargo Foundation

ADGP Members: 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; Fox Corporation; GE Aerospace Foundation; General Motors; Google.org; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; Honda; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; PayPal; The PG&E Corporation Foundation; Stryker; Suburban Propane; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Wingstop Restaurants; The Winn-Dixie Company; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Program Members: 3M; 4Change Energy; 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Aflac; American Family Insurance; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AstraZeneca; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Blue Cross Blue Shield Association; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco Systems, Inc. and Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; CSX; The Deluxe Foundation; DENSO North America Foundation; DHL Supply Chain; DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation; Dollar General; Dollar Tree; Duke Energy; Dutch Bros Coffee; Edward Jones; Eli Lilly and Company Foundation; Enbridge; Equitable ; Erie Insurance; Farmers Insurance®; Fastenal; GEICO Philanthropic Foundation; Grainger; HP Foundation; International Paper; John Deere; Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation ; L'Oréal Groupe; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo ; Liberty Mutual Insurance; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Martin Marietta; Masco Corporation; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Microsoft; Mutual of Omaha Foundation; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Nike Foundation; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Old Dominion Freight Line; Old Republic; Pacific Life Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; Phillips 66; Pilot Company; Prudential; QBE Foundation; Qualcomm; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reynolds American Inc.; RGA Foundation; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Communities; Santander; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Sunbelt Rentals; T-Mobile; Tata Consultancy Services; Tennant Company; Toyota Tsusho America, Inc.; U-Haul International; Uber; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; United States Steel; US Foods; Westlake Corporation; 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.