Red Cross helping amid devastation

Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the tragic flooding that upended lives and destroyed hundreds of homes in Eastern Kentucky.

The American Red Cross is working around the clock with partners to provide shelter, meals and essential support to those in need. This is an evolving and difficult situation. Extremely hot weather blankets the area as rescuers continue to search for survivors and thousands of people are still without power and water.

Preliminary damage assessments indicate that approximately 350 homes were destroyed or sustained significant damage. The Red Cross is working in close coordination with other community and government partners to ensure people receive the help they need as the scale of this disaster continues to be revealed.

These deadly floods – along with heavy rains in Missouri, explosive wildfires in California and recent heat waves – are clear examples of how more intense weather disasters are happening more often and leaving devastation behind. . Over the past two years, on average, the Red Cross has responded to one major new disaster response every 10 days. We see firsthand how families and communities suffer and depend on us for help, with our volunteers continually on the ground, setting up shelters, organizing hot meals and providing comfort to those forced from their homes. .

YOU CAN HELP people affected by disasters such as floods, fires and countless other crises by donating to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters, big or small. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10.

For those wishing to assist those specifically affected by the recent floods, we ask that they write “Kentucky Floods” in the memo line of a check and mail it to their local Red Cross chapter along with a form completed donation form to the address on the form or to their local Red Cross branch. Find the donation form at redcross.org/donate.

RED CROSS RESPONSE Today, more than 250 trained Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground in Kentucky and dozens more in other locations, providing shelter, meals, emotional support and replacing prescription drugs, eyeglasses or essential medical equipment, such as canes and wheelchairs, that have been left behind. in a hurry to get to safety. More help is on the way.

On Monday evening, the Red Cross and our partners brought comfort and care to more than 590 residents at numerous shelters in Eastern Kentucky. Since Thursday, the Red Cross and its partners have provided a total of more than 2,200 overnight stays to residents forced to leave their homes due to flooding.

FIND A SHELTER Anyone affected by these floods can find safe shelter, snacks, meals and a friendly face at a Red Cross emergency shelter. To find an open shelter, visit redcross.org/shelter or view open shelters through the Red Cross emergency app. If you don’t have access to a computer or smartphone, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) to be directed to accommodation options near you. Otherwise, try calling 211 or 311, if these services are available in your area. A list of additional community resources is available at https://appalshop.org/news/appalachian-flood-support-resources.

At this time, there has been no impact on blood drives as a result of these storms. Eligible people in unaffected areas can schedule an appointment to donate blood in the coming weeks by using the Red Cross Blood Donor app, visiting www.redcrossblood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS to help ensure an adequate blood supply.

FIND A RELATIVE If you are unable to locate or connect with a loved one who has been affected by the wildfires, your local Red Cross may be able to help you locate them. If your missing loved one is elderly, has a functional or access need, suffers from a medical or mental condition, or has difficulty understanding English, you can contact your local Red Cross for assistance.

If your loved one lived in the same home as you before the wildfire or is a member of the military community, please contact your local Red Cross for assistance.

STAY SAFE AS THE HEAT MOVES With a heat wave on the way, now is the time to drink plenty of fluids, slow down, and watch out for those most likely to be affected by high temperatures. Watch out for heat-related illnesses. Signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, headaches, and dizziness. Heatstroke is a life-threatening emergency. Signs include hot, red skin, changes in consciousness, and vomiting. If someone experiences heatstroke, call 911 and cool their body temperature by immersing them in cold water.

COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS HELP Generous donations from members of the annual Red Cross Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Response Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters, large and small, to intervene when and where disasters strike and to support families during the recovery process.

The members of the $1 million ADGP are: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Best buy; Caterpillar Foundation; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Wholesale Costco; Delta Airlines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe’s Companies, Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Microsoft Corp. ; National Foundation; PayPal; PetSmart charities; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and Wells Fargo.

Members of the $500,000 ADGP are: Altria Group; Aon; Bread Financial; Calmoseptine, Inc.; Capital 1; CarMax; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental Community Care Foundation; general dollar; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company Fund; Fox Company; General Motors; The Home Depot Foundation; International Paper; The JM Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Mutual freedom of insurance; Lockheed Martin Company; MasterCard; Merck; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Organon; PepsiCo Foundation; selling power ; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stanley Black & Decker; Target; The companies TJX, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; and the Wawa Foundation.

Members of the Disaster Response Program are: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; The AES company; American Express; Ameriprise Financial; Assuring; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Big 5 Sporting Goods; CDW; Choice Hotels International; Cisco Foundation; NAC insurance; The Coca-Cola Company; CSX; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Duke Energy; Dutch Bros Foundation; Fair; FirstEnergy Corporation; Gopuff; Port Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Health; Hewlett Packard Corporate Foundation; HP Foundation; Kaiser Permanente; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; LHC Group; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Foundation, Inc.; Martin Marietta; Mattress company; McKesson; MetLife Foundation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Northrop Grumman; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Former Dominion Freight Line; Pacific Life Foundation; Procter & Gamble; financial prudential; Raytheon Technologies; Reckitt; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Project, a New Venture Fund project; Ross Stores Foundation; Ryder System, Inc.; San Manuel Mission Band of Indians; the Lending Hand Foundation of Security Finance; ServiceNow; South West Airlines; Tata Consulting Services; U-Haul International; American Bank Foundation; and Zurich.