Red Cross helping across the Southeast as people face their losses after Milton and Helene

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This home was destroyed in the Twin Cities Mobile Home Community in St. Petersburg, Florida, one of dozens that experienced incredible damage due to the high waters brought on by Hurricane Helene and the extreme winds during Hurricane Milton. With local partners and government agencies, the Red Cross is working to provide comfort, care and hope to this community and the many others like it as they work to recover from these major disasters. Photo by Marko Kokic/American Red Cross

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Eight-year-old St. Petersburg resident Dirlar Giorbis Alvarado thanks his neighbors Dewey and Robin Goodwin for helping to locate his lost kitten, Tony. Both Dirlar’s and the Goodwin's homes were severely damaged due to the recent storms. With local partners and government agencies, the Red Cross is working to provide comfort, care and hope to this community and the many others like it as they work to recover from these major disasters. Photo by Marko Kokic/American Red Cross

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American Red Cross Volunteer Taylar Sausen speaks with Tina Rushing shortly after her arrival at the Ross Norton Recreation Center shelter in Clearwater, Florida. Living in Florida since July, Tina came to the shelter after Hurricane Milton flooded her condo. “This is my home state. I have a wonderful job here as a pharmacy tech in Odessa,” she said. “I got a call last night that said I needed to find another place to stay because the water was everywhere, it wasn’t safe for me there.” This isn’t the first time the Red Cross helped Tina. Her Tennessee home was lost in a fire in 2014, and the Red Cross provided a safe place to stay and financial assistance to help her family recover. Photo by Marko Kokic/American Red Cross

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Red Cross volunteer Essie Hopkins serves a warm meal to shelter resident Douglas Williams at the Ross Norton Recreation Shelter in Clearwater, Florida. Both veterans, Douglas has nicknamed Essie “Sunshine” because of her warm personality and ability to light up a room. The Ross Norton Recreation Center houses residents who are displaced from both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Through the Red Cross and many government and community partners, shelter residents have a safe place to say, warm meals, water and comfort at this location which houses more than 50 evacuees. Photo by Marko Kokic/American Red Cross

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Red Cross Volunteer Taylar Sausen meets Mimi, an 11-year-old Chihuahua who belongs to shelter resident Mark Alviani. Mark evacuated his home after Hurricane Helene brought irreparable damage to his condo. He is grateful for the Red Cross and their partners who work with the animals so that he can stay with his best friend. The Ross Norton Recreation Center houses more than 50 residents who are displaced from both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Photo by Marko Kokic/American Red Cross

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Red Cross volunteer Susan Harrington provides hot meals to Maria Mercedes and her four-year-old son, Nathan, at a distribution site in Swannanoa, North Carolina. The Red Cross was on site to provide hot meals and supplies like comfort kits, ready-to-eat meals, blankets and water. Since Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on western North Carolina, hundreds of Red Crossers and our partners are working tirelessly to provide shelter, food, water, relief supplies and comfort to those coping with the unimaginable destruction left behind by the deadly storm. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

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Red Cross worker Robert Gaines helps load up Betzabel Escobedo and her mom Maria’s car at a distribution site in Swannanoa, North Carolina. The Red Cross was on site to provide hot meals and supplies like comfort kits, ready-to-eat meals, blankets and water. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

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Red Cross volunteer Ashlie Freeman provides comfort kits to Swannanoa, North Carolina resident Jim Willis at a distribution site in Swannanoa. Since Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on western North Carolina, the Red Cross is working tirelessly to provide shelter, food, water, relief supplies and comfort to those coping with the unimaginable destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

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Red Cross volunteer Karen Moehring checks in with shelter resident Mike Brannon at the Red Cross shelter in Fletcher, North Carolina. Mike was recently featured on the American Red Cross Facebook page and Mike’s son, whom he had not spoken to in more than six months, saw the post and called the Red Cross. The reunification team was able to contact the shelter manager, who connected Mike with his son. In addition to providing shelter, food, water, relief supplies and comfort to those coping with the destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene. Red Cross reunification teams are helping people find and reconnect with loved ones like Mike and his son. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

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Red Cross volunteer Barb Koster held court with some of the younger shelter residents at the Red Cross shelter in Fletcher, North Carolina. Barb was able to learn what Noah, age 3, Kyra, age 7, and Izick, age 10, liked best about the shelter. According to the kiddos the shelter is “calm, has free food and snacks!” Mom Shana Levine has been staying at the shelter with her husband and nine children after the hotel they were staying in flooded after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across western North Carolina. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

October 15, 2024

Some 2,100 Red Crossers are providing food, shelter and a shoulder to lean on in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee

Across the Southeast, stories of tragedy and destruction are being told again and again by those who’ve lived through the nightmares of Hurricanes Milton and Helene. The American Red Cross is there, helping as people come to grips with their losses, and we’ll be there in the months to come.

WE NEED YOUR HELP Whether living with the impacts of two deadly hurricanes just days apart in Florida, or the utter devastation in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee, people desperately need help. The Red Cross can’t do this alone. Please help by making a financial donation, an appointment to give blood or platelets, or signing up to become a volunteer by visiting redcross.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). Financial donations to help people affected by Hurricanes Milton and Helene enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from these disasters. You can also text the word HURRICANES to 90999 to make a donation.

Thanks to the generosity of blood donors in unimpacted areas of the country, the Red Cross could ensure lifesaving blood products were available to patients ahead of these storms. Those outside of affected areas are encouraged to continue giving blood and platelets by scheduling a blood donation appointment here.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of others, consider becoming a Red Cross volunteer.

RED CROSS RESPONSE Some 2,100 Red Crossers are working with our partners to provide food, shelter and a shoulder to lean on in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

In Florida, several disaster kitchens are ready to produce tens of thousands of hot meals a day and dozens of emergency response vehicles are on the roads providing meals, water and supplies to those struggling to clean up their homes.

In North Carolina, more than 60 emergency response vehicles are delivering meals and relief supplies where possible. Depending on the damage, different areas have unique needs and we’re working with partners to deliver things like laundry and shower trailers, cooking stoves, even spark plugs to keep generators going and machinery running to support cleanup.

With the help of partners, we have provided more than 790,000 meals and snacks, and some 60,000 relief items like cleaning and hygiene supplies for thousands of affected families. Disaster health volunteers are caring for minor injuries and replacing things like eyeglasses and medications and mental health volunteers are providing comfort to those affected.

We have received more than 11,000 inquiries as people continue to search for missing loved ones and Red Cross reunification teams are working nonstop to help. If you need assistance, visit redcross.org/helene.

SHELTERS ARE OPEN More than 2,300 people spent Monday night in emergency shelters across the affected states. We encourage anyone who needs aid to come to a shelter, you don’t have to stay overnight to get help. If you need a safe place to stay visit redcross.org, download the free Red Cross Emergency app or call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).

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 disaster.

CLIMATE CRISIS These back-to-back storms are examples of how the climate crisis is worsening and why communities are relying on the Red Cross for much needed support on a continual basis. Disasters this large require a team effort and we rely on community partners and generous donors to ensure we can mobilize quickly when it matters most.

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

ADGP $1M Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Chobani; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; CMA CGM Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Merck; Microsoft; Nationwide Foundation; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo

ADGP $500k Members: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bread Financial; Capital One; Chick-fil-A; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; DHL Supply Chain; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; General Motors; Google.org; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; 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; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Salesforce; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stryker; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; The AES Corporation; ALDI; American Tire Distributors; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Big 5 Sporting Goods; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Dollar Tree and Family Dollar; Duke Energy; Erie Insurance; Equitable; Fifth Third Foundation; FirstEnergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; L’Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Martin Marietta; Masco; Mattress Firm; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis; Old Dominion Freight Line; Pacific Life Foundation; Phillips 66; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reliance, Inc.; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Santander; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Suburban Propane; Tata Consultancy Services; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; U.S. 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.