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Tornadoes in Mississippi Response

2023 Mississippi Tornadoes - Red Cross Response

We help anyone in need after a disaster, and everyone is welcome in our shelters. All disaster assistance is free and 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.
Ways to find a Red Cross shelter:
 

 

Anyone who has been affected by the storm is welcome to stop by a shelter to get information, a hot meal, charge their phone, pick up relief supplies, and get health services. We also have disaster mental health workers available to help people cope during this challenging time.

 
Latest information:

Please check our below Twitter feed for up to the minute information on Emergency Aid Stations, Shelters, how you can help, and more.


News Coverage: 

Thousands Face Devastating Losses after Tornadoes

Related Links

What We're Doing To Help

Red Cross Delivers Relief for Residents Reeling from Impact of Tornadoes
Red Cross emergency response vehicle parked among massive debris of tornado in Mississippi

Photo: An American Red Cross emergency response vehicle travels through a heavily damaged neighborhood of Rolling Fork on Tuesday to serve warm meals. As many as 2,000 homes across Mississippi sustained major damage or were destroyed on Friday, according to early estimates. Many nearby residents were still without power. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

Red Cross volunteer gives a teddy bear to a young boy in a Red Cross shelter

Photo: March 29, 2023. Amory, Mississippi. Red Cross shelter worker Mickey Norris talks with Valerie Doss and her 4-year-old grandson, William Tyrone Jr., on Wednesday at community shelter in Amory, Miss. William’s mom’s birthday is on Thursday, March 31. Doss’ family arrived at an emergency shelter minutes before a tornado struck Amory on Friday, she said. “You could feel the vibration of the wind,” she said. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

March 25, 2023. Rolling Fork, Mississippi. A string of deadly tornadoes caused extensive damage and destruction in the community of Rolling Fork, Miss. Photo by Haley Correll/American Red Cross

Photo: March 25, 2023. Rolling Fork, Mississippi. A string of deadly tornadoes caused extensive damage and destruction in the community of Rolling Fork, Miss. Photo by Haley Correll/American Red Cross

Weeks after deadly tornadoes ripped through Southern and Midwest states in late March 2023, hundreds of people remain in Red Cross or partner shelters. Trained Red Cross responders are working around the clock to ensure people have a safe place to stay during and after these disasters. 

The American Red Cross is also working to get immediate financial assistance into the hands of residents whose homes were severely impacted. Financial assistance empowers impacted communities to take back control and make decisions to prioritize what their family needs most to start recovery.

 

  • Funds can help families replace clothes or food, offset transportation costs, and support other immediate needs such as verified, disaster-caused health and mental health needs.
  • After verifying whether a home was destroyed or sustained eligible structural damage, the Red Cross works with partners and community advocates to assist individuals in obtaining immediate financial assistance through one of several electronic funds transfer (EFT) methods.
  • This outreach also includes sending mobile teams of Red Cross workers into heavily damaged neighborhoods and setting up enrollment sites. 
  • Red Cross responders are also staffing community hub centers to provide a one-on-one opportunity for individuals to ask questions and learn what resources are available.
  • With the ongoing threat for flooding continuing to rise, the Red Cross continues to monitor communities across the Mississippi for forecasted flooding conditions. For example, in Iowa power outages are steadily rising in homes on the islands along the Mississippi River.
  • In the days and weeks ahead, the Red Cross will continue to monitor this impending threat as it threatens homes along the banks.

By the numbers: our response efforts ... so far

In the weeks since the deadly tornados swept across the South and Midwest, American Red Cross disaster workers have worked around the clock to provide comfort and support to people in need.

 

  • More than 2,100 trained Red Cross disaster workers have been deployed to impacted areas.
  • Preliminary reports indicate more than 2,900 homes were destroyed or received major damage. Red Cross volunteers are helping assess the residential damage in affected communities. This work will help us to better understand what help families may need in the coming days and weeks. We continue to provide shelter to communities that have been impacted by these storms and tornadoes.
  • Working with partners, we have provided more than 356,000 meals and have served more than 12,400 households with relief supplies in the affected communities.
  • Many shelters are serving as community hubs where people can come to get a hot meal and Red Cross assistance even if they are staying with friends and family.
  • Trained Red Cross volunteers are also helping families cope during this challenging time and replacing prescription medications, eyeglasses or critical medical equipment like canes and wheelchairs.
Help People Affected by Hurricane Harvey

With partners, have provided nearly 16,800 overnight stays in shelters.

smoke alarms stat

Working with our partners, we've served nearly 356,000 meals and snacks.

Help People Affected by Hurricane Harvey

More than 2,100 Red Cross disaster workers — 90% volunteers — have supported response efforts.

*Numbers are cumulative and represent Red Cross tornado and storm responses in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee from March 23 to April 24, 2023. 

Please Support Our Work by Donating to the Red Cross

We know that people are generous and want to do everything they can to help after a disaster. Our first priority is to provide shelter and support to those affected — and financial donations are the quickest and best way to help those who need it most. Your financial donation to the Red Cross helps provide shelter, meals, relief supplies, emotional support, recovery planning and other assistance during disasters.
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