Disasters Upend July 4th Plans: How the American Red Cross, Caribbean Red Cross Societies are Helping

As many of us get ready to celebrate the long July 4^th holiday weekend, Red Cross societies are rushing to provide aid across the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricane Beryl as American Red Cross disaster teams prepare for a possible Beryl landfall here and continue to help hundreds in Iowa and New Mexico who have lost everything in devastating floods and deadly wildfires.

HURRICANE BERYL, a dangerously strong storm, is leaving terrible devastation behind on multiple Caribbean islands as forecast maps show the storm nearing Texas and Louisiana early next week.

In the Caribbean, Red Cross teams report that Beryl's life-threatening rains and winds have severely impacted the most vulnerable populations in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Devastating impacts are also expected in Jamaica, where Red Cross volunteers are supporting preparedness activities in multiple communities.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is coordinating preparedness and response activities with Red Cross societies in the region and reports there is an urgent need for a combined humanitarian response effort across the Caribbean after Beryl's devastation.

According to local authorities, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada suffered tremendous losses. The Grenadine Islands saw as much as 90% of the infrastructure damaged, including homes and emergency shelters. On Grenada, 95% of homes on the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique were either damaged or destroyed.

Red Cross volunteers are enroute to help. Providing safe shelter and basic services is urgent.Other priorities include distributing relief items, getting communication systems back up and running, and re-establishing power and telecommunication services.

In the United States, the American Red Cross is ready to respond to the storm. with disaster teams and relief supplies deploying over the holiday weekend to potential impact areas. Anyone in Beryl's path should get ready now. Find out how to prepare here.

FLOODING, WILDFIRESAs people begin to recover from the recent flooding in northwest Iowa, new storms are dropping heavy rain in the same areas impacted in last week's deluge. Residents are advised to watch the weather and have a way to receive warnings. Early estimates indicate hundreds of homes are already affected.

In New Mexico, as firefighters gain control of the two devastating wildfires in New Mexico, Ruidoso area residents face a new threat ─ flash flooding and landslides from severe thunderstorms in the burn scar areas. Preliminary damage reports indicate that870 homes were either destroyed or suffered major damage.

As many as 450trained American Red Cross disaster workers are helping people in Iowa and New Mexico, providing safe shelter, food, emotional and spiritual support, relief supplies and other services. 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.

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 Working with partners, some 260trained Red Cross disaster workers are providing safe shelter, food, emotional and spiritual support, relief supplies and health services such as replacing eyeglasses and medications.Since the onset of the flooding, there have been over 3,000overnight stays in shelters managed or supported by the Red Cross. The Red Cross has also provided almost 40,000meals and snacks to those affected and distributed more than 6,000relief supplies.See more about our response here.

NEW MEXICO Nearly 200 trained Red Cross disaster workers from all over the U.S. are helping provide safe shelter, food, emotional and spiritual support, relief supplies and health services such as replacing eyeglasses and medications, both in person and virtually. Since shelters were opened for this disaster, the Red Cross and our partners have provided more than 2,000overnight stays, along with almost 26,000meals and snacks and more than 6,000relief supplies. More information on what the Red Cross is doing in New Mexico here.

YOU CAN HELPpeople affected by disasters in the U.S. 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 across the country. 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 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. 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.

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