The Red Cross for the Central Appalachia Region has nine local volunteers already on the ground in Florida as well as five others traveling once it is safe to do so. Four local Red Cross emergency response vehicles are traveling south on Friday with two responders each. The organization also has four responders in California as well as one in Alaska and one in Puerto Rico to help recovery efforts from those disasters.
More than 13,000 people spent Tuesday night in hundreds of American Red Cross and partner evacuation shelters across Florida to escape Hurricane Ian. The top priority of the Red Cross is to provide comfort and support to Floridians as they face this historic storm and the challenges and uncertainties it brings with it.
The extremely dangerous Category 4 storm struck Florida Wednesday, bringing catastrophic winds, storm surge and flooding. More than 500 trained Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground in Florida to support sheltering and relief efforts as Ian makes landfall.
Before the storm, the Red Cross moved truckloads of additional cots, blankets and comfort kits, along with tens of thousands of relief supplies into the Florida area to be prepared to help as many as 60,000 people. Dozens of emergency response vehicles are also pre-positioned across the state. The Red Cross also sent several hundred blood products to Florida ahead of the storm to ensure patients continue to have access to a readily available blood supply.
The National Hurricane Center reports the entire state of Florida will be impacted by this dangerous storm, with some areas of the southwestern coast seeing storm surges of 12 to 16 feet above ground. In addition, parts of Florida could see 18 inches of rain. More than 2 million people are under evacuation warnings as Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Florida today. Ian is the first significant hurricane to hit the Sunshine State since 2018. Ian could also cause considerable flooding in Georgia and South Carolina later this week where some areas could see a foot of rain.
Download the free Red Cross Emergency app for weather alerts, open Red Cross shelter locations and safety tips. You can find the app by searching “American Red Cross” in your app store or by going to redcross.org/apps.
To learn more about being a Red Cross volunteer, go to redcross.org/volunteertoday.
You can also help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation today.
