Millions Face Wildfire, Tornado Threats this Week

Red Cross has disaster teams standing by to respond if necessary

The American Red Cross remains in a state of continuous disaster response as severe weather, tornadoes and critical wildfire conditions threaten millions of people this week from the Plains to the East Coast.

These new threats come on the heels of the devastating wildfires in southern California, the flooding in Kentucky, and wildfires over the weekend in several states. Red Cross disaster teams remain in California and Kentucky, providing food, shelter, health and mental health services, help finding housing and financial assistance. Meanwhile, as many as 175 wildfires broke out in the Carolinas over the weekend, prompting evacuations of several communities. Red Crossers opened shelters in both North and South Carolina and will support a Community Reception Site today in South Carolina.

The Red Cross is responding nonstop, with a major disaster occurring as often as every 15 days. 2024 saw the second-highest number of billion-dollar disasters in a single year marked by extreme events like Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Based on the first two months of this year, 2025 is on track to potentially set new records for the number of major disasters.

CRITICAL RISKS THIS WEEK The National Weather Service warns that extremely critical wildfire conditions exist from the Plains to New Mexico and Texas over the next few days, along with the threat of severe thunderstorms, strong winds and tornadoes lasting for the next several days across the Lower Mississippi Valley and much of the Southeast. The Red Cross has disaster teams standing by across multiple states, ready to respond if necessary.

Everyone in the forecast area is urged to start their preparations now.

• If you need to leave, think about where you will go, how you will get there, where you will stay and what you’ll take with you. Plan well in advance if you’ll need help leaving or use public transportation. Don’t forget to include pets in your plans.
• Plan to reconnect with loved ones if you are separated or if the phone or internet is down. Write down important phone numbers on a contact card and carry it with you.
• Stay informed by monitoring local weather and news reports even if the power goes out.
• Have a backup battery or another way to charge your cell phone, and a battery-powered or hand-crank radio.
• Gather critical supplies — like food, water and medicine — and organize them into a go-kit and a stay-at-home kit. Your go-kit should include three days of supplies that you can carry with you. Include backup batteries and chargers for your devices (cell phone, CPAP, wheelchair, etc.)
• Your stay-at-home kit should have two weeks of food and water, and a one-month supply of medications and medical supplies.
• Customize your kit to meet your household’s specific needs. If you have pets, include leashes, carriers, food, water, bowls, litter, litterbox and photos of you with your pet in case you are separated.
• Keep personal, financial and medical records safe and easy to access (hard copies or securely backed up). Consider keeping a list of your medications and dosages on a small card to carry with you.

TORNADO SAFETY

• Find the safest location at places where you spend a lot of time. A basement or a small room with no windows on the lowest level of a sturdy building is best.
• Mobile, manufactured, trailer homes and recreational vehicles (RVs) are not safe in high wind events. Plan ahead by finding a sturdy building where you can seek shelter.
• Practice a tornado drill with your entire household by moving quickly to the nearest safe location.
• If a tornado warning is issued or if you suspect a tornado, go to your safe place immediately. After getting to your safe shelter, use your arms to protect your head and neck.
• Keep listening to radio, TV or other news sources. Stay in your shelter until the tornado warning ends.
• If the building you are in has been damaged, exit with extreme care and stay out. Look around for things that might fall or are dangerous.
• Do not use matches or lighters inside. If you smell gas or see spills that could be flammable, leave immediately.
• If you are trapped, try to cover your mouth with a cloth or mask to avoid breathing dust. Try to send a text, bang on a pipe or wall, or use a whistle instead of shouting.

SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY Postpone outdoor activities if the forecast calls for thunderstorms. Watch for storm signs, such as darkening skies, lightning flashes and increasing wind.

• A WATCH means be prepared, and a WARNING means take action. If thunder roars, go indoors.
• Seek shelter inside a sturdy building and move to the basement or an interior room on the lowest floor. Stay away from glass windows and doors.
• Lightning can be dangerous even when you are inside. 
• Avoid using devices connected to electrical outlets.
• Avoid running water as lightning can travel through plumbing and water lines. 
• No place outside is safe when thunderstorms are nearby. Sheds, gazebos, dugouts and bleachers don’t protect from lightning or high winds.
• Avoid taking shelter under a tree as they are often hit by lightning, and you could be injured.
• Being in a vehicle is safer than being outside; however, if you have time, drive to the closest sturdy building, and take shelter inside.
•  If you are driving and can’t get to a sturdy building, pull off the road and park in a place where falling trees and power lines won’t hit you.
• Flash flooding happens quickly. Move to higher ground before floodwaters reach you. 
• Never walk, swim or drive through floodwater. Turn around, don’t drown.
• Download the free Red Cross Emergency app for real-time weather alerts, open shelter locations and expert advice in both English and Spanish. Search “American Red Cross” in app stores or go to redcross.org/apps.

THREE WAYS YOU CAN HELP

1. Donate to Disaster Relief. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.
2. Become a Red Cross volunteer. The need to help during a disaster has never been greater. Visit redcross.org/volunteer to learn more about some of our most needed volunteer positions.
3. Give blood. Dangerous snow and ice conditions have caused more than 25,000 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected since the beginning of the year. People of all blood types — especially those with type O negative blood and those giving platelets — are needed. Find a donation opportunity and schedule an appointment at RedCrossBlood.org, 1-800-RED CROSS or the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

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.

Mission Leader Members: Amazon; American Airlines; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; Costco Wholesale; State Farm; Truist Foundation

ADGP $1M Members: Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Chobani; CMA CGM Foundation; 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; Six Four Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo

ADGP $500k Members: ALDI; Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Baxter International Foundation; Boeing; 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 Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; GE Aerospace; General Motors; Google.org; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; ; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Mastercard; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; NTT Ltd; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stryker; Suburban Propane; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Yum! Brands; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Albemarle Corporation; The Allstate Foundation; American Tire Distributors; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works;; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco and Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; DENSO North America Foundation; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Dollar Tree and Family Dollar; Duke Energy; Erie Insurance; Equitable; Fifth Third Foundation; FirstEnergy Corporation; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; L’Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo ; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Martin Marietta; Masco Corporation; 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; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reliance, Inc.; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Santander Bank and Santander Consumer USA Foundation Inc. ; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Stephens; Tennant Company; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; Zurich