Two weeks after tragic flooding upturned lives and destroyed hundreds of homes across Eastern Kentucky, the American Red Cross is still there, working around the clock with our partners to provide comfort and critical support to help those in need.

This is an incredibly challenging situation, and we are working closely with local officials to make sure people have the help they need as they begin the long road to recovery. Some areas remain cut off due to damaged roads and bridges and Red Cross disaster workers are bringing food and relief supplies to people by boat. Preliminary damage reports indicate that nearly 1,400 homes were either destroyed or suffered major damage.

Red Cross Response

In both Missouri and Kentucky, the Red Cross immediately responded to help those affected by the disastrous and deadly flooding.

As of Wednesday (8/10/22), the Red Cross and our partners provided comfort and care for almost 430 residents in 13 shelters across Eastern Kentucky. In the last week, the Red Cross and our partners have provided a total of more than 6,000 overnight stays for residents forced to leave their homes.

With the support of local partners, the Red Cross has helped to provide some 81,000 meals and snacks to people in need. In addition, we’ve given out thousands of critical relief items to nearly 1,400 households.

In Kentucky, our teams are on the ground working alongside our state and municipal partners to determine damage and the needs of impacted communities.

• More than 470 trained Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground in Kentucky with dozens more in other locations, providing shelter, meals, emotional support and replacing prescription medications, eyeglasses or critical medical equipment, like canes and wheelchairs, which were left behind in the rush to get to safety. More help is on the way.
• We are assessing needs in nine counties impacted by the flash flooding and mobilizing resources and people to assist where needed.