
Please click, text or call to support Red Cross Disaster Relief
and help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises.
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 19, 2025 ─ The American Red Cross is rushing critical emergency aid to families affected by the devastating tornadoes that have left a trail of heartbreak across Kentucky and Missouri.
The situation is still evolving, and the threat of severe weather is expected to continue for the next several days. The National Weather Service reports significant severe weather and heavy rainfall is likely from the central and southern Plains into the Ozarks. Tornadoes, potentially strong to intense, large hail and damaging winds are possible. People should get ready now. Safety information is available here for different disasters, including tornadoes, thunderstorms and flooding.
In Kentucky, many of the same communities that suffered devastating flooding earlier this year have now seen additional damage from the ongoing severe weather. In Missouri, people are sifting through the wreckage in neighborhoods where tornadoes have damaged hundreds of homes.
The Red Cross is coordinating closely with other community and government partners, working around the clock to provide a safe place to stay, food to eat, and emotional support for those affected by this severe weather. More help is on the way as the Red Cross deploys additional disaster teams, emergency response vehicles and tractor trailers carrying relief supplies to help, with more supplies and volunteers standing ready if necessary.
Where it is safe to do so, Red Cross volunteers are also helping assess the residential damage in affected communities. This information will help us to better understand what help families and communities may need in the coming days and weeks.
FIND A SHELTER If you need a safe place to stay, find open shelters on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) and selecting the disaster option. You can also find shelters by following your local county and city officials on social media or monitoring local news.
Red Cross shelters are open to everyone in need, and all disaster assistance is free. We do not turn away people who need assistance during a disaster. We provide aid to all those in need, regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or citizenship status. We don’t require people to show any kind of identification to enter a Red Cross shelter, just their name and where they were living before the disaster.
DOWNLOAD OUR APPS Download the free Red Cross First Aid app so you’ll know what to do if emergency help is delayed and the free Emergency app for weather alerts, open Red Cross shelter locations and safety steps for different emergencies. Choose whether you want to view the content in English or Spanish with an easy-to-find language selector. Find these and all of the Red Cross apps in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps.
HOW YOU CAN HELP People are depending on the Red Cross for help now, and we need your support. Please click, text or call to support Red Cross Disaster Relief and help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to donate. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.
CLIMATE CRISIS The Red Cross is responding nonstop, with a major disaster occurring as often as every 15 days. As the climate crisis worsens and disasters become more frequent and intense, the Red Cross is increasing our capacity to help those in need. We urge everyone to get ready now in case a disaster threatens your community.
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; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; Costco Wholesale; State Farm
ADGP $1M Members: American Honda Motor Company; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Chobani; CMA CGM Foundation; 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; Porche; Six Four Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo
ADGP $500k Members: ALDI; Altria Group; Aon; Baxter Foundation; Boeing; 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; GE Aerospace; General Motors; Google.org; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; ; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Mastercard; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; NTT Data; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; 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; Yum! Brands; Zoetis Foundation
Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Aflac; Albemarle Corporation; The Allstate Foundation; American Family Insurance; American Tire Distributors; 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; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Dollar Tree; Duke Energy; Erie Insurance; Fastenal; Equitable; Fifth Third Foundation; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; 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; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis; Old Dominion Freight Line; Oxy; Pacific Life Foundation; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Santander Bank and Santander Consumer USA Foundation Inc. ; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Stephens; Tata Consultancy Services; Tennant Company; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; 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.