Red Cross - Damage Assessment

The American Red Cross has begun the Damage Assessment phase of our storm response in East Central Georgia. Once this phase is complete, we will transition into recovery, where trained caseworkers will begin working with families to assist them in developing their recovery plan. As of now, we encourage everyone who may need assistance with recovery to call 1 (800) RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) and/or 1 (800) 621 - FEMA (1-800-621-3362).

Red Cross Damage Assessment (DA) teams will assess the damage of homes and categorize them in accordance with FEMA's categories- Affected, Minor, Major, Destroyed. We will work with your EMA to cross reference our DA assessments with theirs to best serve your community. Once we have over 80% DA completed for our Hurricane Helene response, we will use several different forms of communication to reach out to families experiencing Major or Destroyed damage to their home.

These counties are in the first phase of Damage Assessment: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Burke, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Echols, Effingham, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Lowndes, Montgomery, Pierce, Thomas, Tift, Treutlen, and Washington.

Currently, we have over 200 individuals in 5 shelters across Georgia from Hurricane Helene's impact. We have seen this number steadily drop as families find footing in their next steps.

Please let me know if you have areas of greatest impact where our teams should prioritize. Specific streets or neighborhood addresses would be most helpful.

For more information on our disaster relief and recovery services: https://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/disaster-relief.html