The American National Red Cross

08/19/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/19/2024 11:02

Red Cross Continues to Help People Impacted by Debby

It's been two weeks since Hurricane Debby's destruction began in the southeast and more than 250 trained American Red Cross responders are still there, helping people impacted by the storm as they clean up their homes and plan their next steps.

YOU CAN HELP people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises by making a gift to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.You can makea financial donation by visiting redcross.orgor calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).

RED CROSS RESPONSE Since shelters were opened for this disaster, the Red Cross and our partners have provided more than 1,948 overnight stays in more than 60 emergency shelters. In addition to supporting shelters, Red Cross teams are bringing relief services directly to people cleaning up their homes. This support includes thousands of meals, cleanup kits and other resources to help families start recovering after the storm's destruction.

To help better understand what families will face, the Red Cross is working with local officials to assess residential damage left behind by Debby. Preliminary reports indicate more than 420 homes are destroyed or have received major damage. These numbers may rise as damage assessment continues.

While the current focus is on addressing the immediate needs of those affected, the Red Cross also plays a critical role in helping families and communities recover in the weeks and months after a disaster. Anyone affected by the storms can receive assistance by calling 1-800-RED CROSS(1-800-733-2767).

Find more information about Hurricane Debby here.

ERNESTO CAUSING DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS Ernesto strengthened back to a hurricane over the weekend and is causing dangerous surf and rip currents all along the East Coast where many areas have closed their beaches.

If you are caught in a rip current, stay calm and don't fight it. Swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current. Then, turn and swim to shore.

If you can't swim to shore, float or tread water until you are free of the rip current and then head toward shore. Draw attention to yourself by waving and calling for help.

CLIMATE CRISIS The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports 2024 could become one of the busiest hurricane seasons on record, especially with the peak of the season - from August through October - still to come. NOAA has predicted 17 to 24 named storms of which 4 to 7 could become major hurricanes.

The climate crisis is impacting the frequency and intensity of disasters like hurricanes.

Warmer water in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea and the possibility of La Nina developing can enable more storms to develop and strengthen.

Overall, the Red Cross is responding to twice as many major disasters as we did a decade ago to help families and communities struggling with more frequent and intense disasters.

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; Chobani; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; 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; 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; Lockheed Martin Corporation; 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; Zoetis

Disaster Responder Members: 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; Canadian National Railroad Association; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; 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; LKQ; Macy's, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Martin Marietta; Masco; Mattress Firm; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; 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; Stephen's Inc.; Tata Consultancy Services; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty; U.S. Foods; Yum! Brands; Zurich