Red Cross Responds to Iowa Flooding, New Mexico Wildfires

The American Red Cross is responding as flooding continues to inundate areas in northwest Iowa and hundreds of residents in New Mexico deal with the aftermath of devastating wildfires.

In Iowa, floodwaters are going down in some areas but people downstream are preparing for possible flooding in their neighborhoods. Some areas received as much as 18 inches of rain over the weekend. Water from the smaller waterways will drain into the Missouri and Mississippi rivers which could cause more flooding along the two larger rivers. Early estimates indicate hundreds of homes are affected.

In New Mexico, some residents are being allowed to return to their neighborhoods as fire crews gain control of two devastating wildfires that forced as many as 8,000 people to evacuate last week. The South Fork and Salt fires have scorched more than 25,000 acres. The Salt Fire is 55% contained; the South Fork Fire is 64% contained. Heavy rain is predicted which could cause flash flooding and mudslides in the area and hamper efforts to control the fires. Early reports indicate as many as 1,400 structures are destroyed ─ this may include 500 homes, according to state officials.

RED CROSS RESPONSE The American Red Cross is working with officials and partners in Iowa and New Mexico to provide comfort and support to people impacted by these deadly situations. Both the flooding and fires have caused tremendous losses, and the Red Cross will be with those affected in the weeks and months to come, helping them recover.

Almost 300 trained Red Cross disaster workers are helping in Iowa and New Mexico, providing safe shelter, food, emotional and spiritual support, relief supplies and other services. Where it is safe to do so, the Red Cross is helping assess the damage left behind by both the flooding and wildfires. This information will determine what support the affected communities may need in the days and weeks ahead.

IOWA The situation in Iowa is still evolving and the Red Cross isworking with localofficials andadapting as necessary to provide vital care and comfort in the affected communities.Since the onset of the flooding, there have been more than 1,650 overnight stays in 9 shelters managed or supported by the Red Cross. The Red Cross has also provided more than 3,100 meals and snacks to those affected. See more about our response here.

NEW MEXICO Since shelters were opened for this disaster, the Red Cross and our partners have provided more than 1,800 overnight stays for more than 565 residents, along with more than 14,200 meals and snacks. Overnight on June 25, Red Cross and our partners had 5 open shelters open to support some 40 people. The Red Cross has also distributed almost 3,900 relief items and successfully completed more than 155 welfare information requests. More information on what the Red Cross is doing in New Mexico here.

FIND A SHELTERWe encourage anyone who needs a place to stay or a warm meal to come to a Red Cross shelter. Our shelters are safe for everyone, regardless of citizenship status. We won't ask for any kind of identification, and we don't share resident information with the government.

Find shelter information on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). You can also find shelters by following your local Red Cross and local emergency officials on social media, or by monitoring local news.

If possible, we encourage people who plan to stay in a shelter to bring prescription medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, other comfort items and important documents. Don't forget to bring any special items for children, such as diapers, formula and toys, or for family members who have unique needs.

We do everything we can to accommodate service animals and domesticated pets comfortably in our shelters. Sometimes, depending on the situation, pets may need to be housed in a different location with support from local partners.

YOU CAN HELPpeople affected by disasters like floods, fires and countless other crises by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767), or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

PLEASE GIVE BLOODSince the start of 2024, severe weather has caused approximately 20,000 blood donations to go uncollected. The American Red Cross critically needs blood and platelet donors now. Donors of all blood types are needed, especially those with type O blood and donors giving platelets. The Red Cross encourages those in unaffected areas to make and keep blood donation appointments now using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, by visiting RedCrossBlood.orgor by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

CLIMATE CRISIS AND DISASTERS According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the risk of flooding is constantly increasing due to the climate crisis. And according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the changing climate has already led to an increase in wildfire season length, wildfire frequency and burned area.

The Red Cross is responding to twice as many major disasters now compared to a decade ago and is enhancing its large-scale disaster response and recovery services, expanding financial assistance, strengthening local partner networks, and growing our disaster workforce as families and communities struggle with more frequent and intense disasters. Find out more about the Red Cross and its work on the climate crisis here.

If you are impacted by flooding, find steps to help you stay safe here. Affected by wildfires? You can find safety steps here.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.

DONATION OF GOODS 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.When possible, the Red Cross partners with organizations that manage donations of goods as part of their primary mission. In all cases, due to health code regulations, the Red Cross cannot accept donations of homecooked meals or food items not prepared in a commercial kitchen.

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, regardless of cost.

ADGP $1M Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; CMA CGM Foundation; Costco Wholesale; 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; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo

ADGP $500k Members: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bread Financial; Capital One; Chick-fil-A; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; DHL Supply Chain; DraftKings; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company Fund; Fox Corporation; General Motors; Google.org; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; Kaiser Permanente; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Mastercard; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Salesforce; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stryker; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco

Disaster Responder Members: The 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; The AES Corporation; ALDI; American Tire Distributors; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Big 5 Sporting Goods; Build-A-Bear Foundation; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Choice Hotels International; Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Dollar Tree and Family Dollar; Duke Energy; Equitable; FirstEnergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; L'Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; LHC Group; LKQ; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Macy's, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Martin Marietta; Masco; Mattress Firm; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; The Middleby Corporation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis; Old Dominion Freight Line; Pacific Life Foundation; Phillips 66; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reliance, Inc.; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Santander; Security Finance's Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Tata Consultancy Services; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty; U.S. Foods; Yum! Brands; Zurich.

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