None of us ever thought we’d experience a hurricane hundreds of miles inland, but that's exactly what happened one year ago when Hurricane Helene devastated communities across North Carolina, South Carolina and neighboring states.

At my home in Edgefield, we woke up the day after the storm to trees down all around our home, and our two vehicles were crushed. I’m just one of the many Red Crossers who experienced the wrath of the storm. Several of our Upstate volunteers who had traveled to Florida to preposition ahead of landfall came back to find their homes destroyed.

Still, they bravely put on their red vests and raised their hands to help their neighbors. As Red Crossers, we’re accustomed to seeing the immense damage that ferocious storms leave behind, but it’s another thing entirely to experience impacts yourself and still answer the call to help.

Red Cross flew in to help from across the country: local emergency responders and organizations working hand in hand, good Samaritans arranging convoys of relief supplies and generous donations pouring in to ensure essential services reached those who needed help the most.

There’s something supremely powerful in witnessing the best of humanity after a tragic event like Helene. When neighbors help neighbors, we’re never alone.

That’s why the American Red Cross is working strategically as we face an important inflection point. The increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather is putting frontline communities and our organization in a posture of continuous response. This challenges how we’ve historically responded to major disasters.

Our greatest opportunity is to build resilience. This means using our expertise to bring together the many groups, agencies and individuals who respond in emergencies. None of us do it alone.

We are identifying resources and engaging leaders with local expertise to enhance our collective ability to meet the community’s needs in times of crisis. We are also assessing our readiness at the local level by conducting shelter simulations and evaluating our ability to respond promptly and effectively. A key component of our readiness is an adequate shelter workforce. We’ve been actively recruiting volunteers and hosting shelter boot camps across the state and in collaboration with our partners to train up groups of responders who are ready to stand up shelters when the next disaster strikes.

Here in South Carolina, some of our neighbors are still recovering from Helene. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the Red Cross provides long-term support. We are working with impacted communities and partners to establish long-term recovery groups and direct services to those impacted by the disaster.

Following Helene, we provided direct financial help to individuals, as well as grant funding to nonprofits and community organizations helping with recovery services. Our long-term efforts also include educating communities on disaster preparedness.

Today, the Red Cross is mobilizing for what may become a hurricane at our door in the next few days. You can do your part by ensuring your family is prepared now.

If you live on the coast, you are most at risk of extreme winds and flooding from rain and storm surge. Those inland are at risk of strong winds, heavy rains and even tornadoes.

Sit down with your family now and make two plans: one to evacuate, and one to shelter safely at home. Include pets, older adults and small children’s unique needs in your plans. Learn more at redcross.org/hurricane.

These tips bear repeating:

1. If you need to evacuate, plan where you’ll go, how you’ll get there and where you’ll stay. If local officials call for an evacuation, plan to act immediately. Follow evacuation routes, and don’t try to take shortcuts; they may be blocked.

2. If you can safely stay home, be ready to live without power and maybe water for a week or longer. Know that mobile homes and RVs cannot provide safe shelter from strong winds. Plan well in advance if you will need help leaving or need public transportation to evacuate.

3. Make an emergency kit with food, water and medicine for everyone, including pets. Don’t forget batteries and chargers for phones and medical devices. Backup or keep hard copies of important documents or records.

4. Sign up for free emergency alerts from your local government, and download the free Red Cross Emergency app for real-time weather alerts, open shelter locations and safety advice in English and Spanish.