Red Cross Provides Help Across Multiple States

Red Cross Provides Help Across Multiple States After Flooding Forces Thousands from their Homes

More rain predicted for the area. People urged to be prepared for more flooding.

WASHINGTON D.C. - March 11, 2016 — The American Red Cross is responding to the devastating flooding occurring in multiple states across the South after a deluge of more than 18 inches of rain fell over the last several days.

More than 450 people spent Thursday night in Red Cross and community shelters in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Red Cross workers are providing shelter, meals, relief supplies and health and mental health services in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Arkansas. The threat of more rain and flooding is expected to continue through the weekend. The Red Cross will continue to monitor the situation with state and local officials to ensure people get the help they need.

“The damage from the ongoing flooding is significant and impacting many communities. Thousands of people have been forced from their homes. We are helping now and will continue to support them as long as we are needed,” said Brad Kieserman, vice president, Disaster Services Operations and Logistics for the Red Cross. “The Red Cross is depending on the public’s generosity to continue supporting families as they recover from this overwhelming situation.”

This flooding comes just weeks after an earlier round of severe weather affected many of the same areas. In Louisiana, the Red Cross was already supporting residents affected by the tornadoes that ripped through the state in late February and workers will continue to provide help to those needing assistance.

FLOODING SAFETY INFORMATION With the threat of more flooding in the region, the Red Cross has steps people should follow to remain safe:

1. Be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice and heed evacuation orders when given. When a flood or flash flood warning is issued for your area, head for higher ground and stay there.

2. Stay away from floodwaters.

3. If you come upon a flooded road while driving, turn around and go another way. If you are caught on a flooded road and waters are rising rapidly around you, get out of the car quickly and move to higher ground. Most cars can be swept away by less than two feet of moving water.

4. Keep children out of the water.

5. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize flood danger.

DOWNLOAD EMERGENCY With the threat of more severe weather, people should download the free Red Cross Emergency App to receive emergency alerts and information about what to do in case of flooding and other disasters, as well as locations of shelters. The App also includes emergency first aid information and a Family Safe feature which allows people to instantly see if loved ones are okay. The free Emergency App is available in app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps.

HOW TO HELP Those who would like to help people affected by disasters like flooding and countless other crises can make a donation to Red Cross Disaster Relief. People can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. These donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.

CORPORATIONS HELP The generous donations from members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and the Disaster Responder Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process.

ADGP $1 Million members are: American Airlines; Anthem Foundation; Boise Paper; Caterpillar Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Disney; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx Corporation; The Home Depot; Humble Bundle; LDS Charities; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Merck Foundation; Nationwide Foundation; State Farm; Target; UPS; VSP℠ Vision care for life; and Walmart and the Walmart Foundation.

ADGP $500,000 members are: 3M; Altria Group; American Express; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Aon; Bank of America; BNY Mellon; Capital One; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; ConAgra Foods Foundation; Darden Restaurants Foundation; Discover; Edison International; Farmers Insurance; Ford Motor Company; Grainger; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; Medtronic; Meijer; Mondelēz International Foundation; National Grid; PepsiCo Foundation; Prudential Foundation; San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; Southwest Airlines; Sprint; Sunoco; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; United Technologies Corporation; Visa; Wawa; and Wells Fargo.

Disaster Responder Program members are: Alcoa; Almost Family; Astellas USA Foundation; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; AXA; Ball Foundation; BHP Billiton; CarMax; The Clorox Company; Cox Automotive; Duke Energy; Entergy Corporation; General Motors Foundation; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; Hi-Rez Studios; HP Company Foundation; IBM Corporation; IKEA; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; Interstate All Battery Center; Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Marsh & McLennan Companies; MetLife Foundation; Morgan Stanley; Neiman Marcus Group; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Procter & Gamble Company; PSEG Foundation; PuroClean Disaster Recovery; Red Heart; Residence Inn by Marriott; Ryder; Sealed Air; Servpro Industries Inc.; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Foundation, Inc.; State Street Foundation; TOYOTA; U.S. Bank; and U-Haul International.

Contact: Public Affairs Desk, Telephone: (202) 303-5551, FOR MEDIA ONLY