The American Red Cross is assisting people affected by two major storms that recently brought new devastation to U.S. communities thousands of miles apart.

Super Typhoon Champi passed over Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) this past weekend, the third super typhoon to hit those islands since April. Just a week earlier and more than 8,200 miles away, Hurricane Isaias slammed into Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, on October 9, the first hurricane to make landfall along a U.S. coastline since Hurricane Milton in October 2024.

Red Cross chapters on the islands and along the Gulf Coast responded immediately, even getting help in place before the storms hit. Local volunteers were joined by close to 800 responders who deployed to both regions to help. Today, more than 350 Red Crossers are still working around the clock to help people impacted by Champi and Isaias.

SUPER TYPHOON CHAMPI has moved away from Guam and the Northern Marianas where residents are starting to recover. Guam took the brunt of the storm. Early reports indicate as many as 100 homes were destroyed or received major damage. Several homes on Rota suffered roof damage and Saipan and Tinian escaped the wrath of the storm.

The Red Cross is focused on sheltering, feeding and giving out relief supplies.

During the storm, Red Cross disaster responders operated or supported 15 shelters on the four islands where more than 1,000 people took refuge from the storm. Several hundred people on Guam remain in shelters and the Red Cross will open several new shelters to help people needing that support. This will move the shelters out of schools, allowing them to reopen.

Among those staying in the shelters on Guam was Maxine Seo Thomas, one of many residents who have faced repeated damage from the earlier typhoons. Maxine saw damage to her home twice before. Both Typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi took the roof off of her home. This time she made sure to tie it down with a chain before heading to the Red Cross

Maxine sought shelter again alongside her four daughters and two grandsons. She says it’s a very difficult situation because “we were fixing it up and then another one comes.” For all three storms, the Red Cross has been on island providing assistance to those impacted.

“It’s really helpful for me, we got help from the Red Cross” Maxine said. “It’s a lot; they feed us, they give us tarps, help us fixi our house. It’s a big help.” Learn more here.

Red Crossers have established feeding and distribution routes and are traveling across the island, providing what is needed in the different communities. Guam Hilton will support feeding across Guam.

Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces workers reported they will staff two Emergency Family Assistance Centers on Tuesday, one at Andersen Air Force Base and one at Naval Base Guam.

HURRICANE ISAIAS made landfall near Destin, Florida, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers and causing flooding as far north as the Carolinas.

At the height of the storm, the Red Cross opened or supported 21 evacuation centers in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. The priority now is to secure sustainable housing for several displaced households.

In Florida, the Red Cross is participating in Multi-Agency Resource Centers (MARCs) where people can access resources from various agencies in a single location. Red Cross caseworkers are available to help address individual household needs.

In Alabama, Red Cross teams have been on the ground in impacted communities, delivering essential supplies, checking on residents and working alongside local partners to help families navigate the aftermath of the storm. In North Carolina, Red Crossers are also supporting people impacted by Hurricane Isaias as they begin to recover.

RECOVERING EMOTIONALLY Disasters are upsetting for everyone they touch. Children, senior citizens, people with disabilities and people for whom English is not their first language are especially at risk and may need extra care. Everyone deserves support throughout the recovery process. If you or a loved one needs help, call or text the free 24/7 Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800- 985-5990. More information is available here.

HOW YOU CAN HELP People look to the Red Cross for help during these devastating emergencies and we can’t do it alone. You can help by making a financial donation to support Red Cross Disaster Relief, or by becoming a volunteer.

Champi and Isaias are not the only disasters which have impacted people this year. The Pacific has been extremely active. Champi is the third typhoon to hit Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and hurricanes named Lala and Lowell left damage behind in Hawaii.

Other major disasters upended lives across the country. Devastating wildfires in Southern California, catastrophic flooding in Texas, Typhoon Halong in Alaska ─ all left communities reeling. Through it all, the American Red Cross was there. 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.

You can also help by becoming a volunteer. We invite you to get involved by visiting redcross.org/volunteer. The Guam and CNMI chapters invite you to support your community by registering as a volunteer with your local chapter. Guam Chapter, (671) 472-6217 CNMI Chapter, (670) 234-3459.

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