The American Red Cross is responding in Oklahoma after tornadoes touched down Wednesday night while hundreds of disaster workers continue to help people in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi affected by the recent devastating flooding.
In Oklahoma, Red Cross workers supported first responders with food and water overnight in Tulsa, Owasso and Claremore where the storms damaged homes, downed trees and left thousands without power. The Red Cross is working with local and state emergency management agencies and will be out in the area today to help assess the storm damage and distribute snacks, water and needed supplies for storm clean-up including tarps, trash bags, rakes and more.
“Oklahomans are urged to download the free Red Cross Emergency App from their app store to receive weather alerts including severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings, as well as to learn what to do before, during and after severe weather,” stated Regina Moon, executive director for the Red Cross serving Northeast Oklahoma. “We also invite them to become a Red Cross volunteer to be ready before the next round of storms.”
Millions of people face the threat of more severe weather today from the south into the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and Tennessee Valley. The potential exists for damaging winds, thunderstorms, heavy rain, large hail and more tornadoes.
TORNADO SAFETY If someone lives in an area where tornadoes are possible, they should follow these safety steps
FLOODING RESPONSE CONTINUES Almost 120 residents of Louisiana and Texas are still in shelters weeks after historic flooding occurred that destroyed or heavily damaged more than 8,200 homes. Hundreds of Red Cross workers are operating shelters, serving meals and snacks, providing health and mental health services, distributing relief supplies and meeting one-on-one with residents to help them plan their recovery. See more on the Red Cross response in this video.
Since the flooding began three weeks ago, more than 2,000 Red Crossers working alongside partners have provided 4,900 overnight stays in 60 shelters; served 305,000 meals and snacks; distributed more than 125,000 relief items including comfort kits and cleaning supplies; and provided 10,000 health and mental health consultations since the flooding began. More than 3,800 cases have been opened to provide additional recovery support to families needing extra help.
HOW TO HELP Anyone who wants to help people affected by disasters like flooding, tornadoes and countless other crises can make a donation to Red Cross Disaster Relief. People can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. These donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.
BECOME A RED CROSS VOLUNTEER Another way people can help is to become a Red Cross volunteer. The donated time and talent of a Red Cross volunteer can make a real difference in people’s lives. Go to redcross.org to learn more about volunteer opportunities and how to submit a volunteer application.
CORPORATIONS HELP The generous donations from members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and the Disaster Responder Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process.
ADGP $1 Million members are: American Airlines; Anthem Foundation; Boise Paper; Caterpillar Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Disney; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx Corporation; The Home Depot; Humble Bundle; LDS Charities; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Merck Foundation; Nationwide Foundation; State Farm; Target; UPS; VSP℠ Vision care for life; and Walmart and the Walmart Foundation.
ADGP $500,000 members are: 3M; Altria Group; American Express; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Aon; Bank of America; BNY Mellon; Capital One; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; ConAgra Foods Foundation; Darden Restaurants Foundation; Discover; Edison International; Farmers Insurance; Ford Motor Company; Grainger; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; Medtronic; Meijer; Mondelēz International Foundation; National Grid; PepsiCo Foundation; Prudential Foundation; San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; Southwest Airlines; Sprint; Sunoco; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; United Technologies Corporation; Visa; Wawa; and Wells Fargo.
Disaster Responder Program members are: Alcoa; Almost Family; Astellas USA Foundation; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; AXA; Ball Foundation; BHP Billiton; CarMax; The Clorox Company; Cox Automotive; Duke Energy; Entergy Corporation; General Motors Foundation; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; Hi-Rez Studios; HP Company Foundation; IBM Corporation; IKEA; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; Interstate All Battery Center; Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Marsh & McLennan Companies; MetLife Foundation; Morgan Stanley; Neiman Marcus Group; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Procter & Gamble Company; PSEG Foundation; PuroClean Disaster Recovery; Red Heart Yarns; Residence Inn by Marriott; Ryder; Sealed Air; Servpro Industries Inc.; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Foundation, Inc.; TOYOTA; U.S. Bank; and U-Haul International.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
Support all the urgent humanitarian needs of the American Red Cross.
Support all the urgent humanitarian needs of the American Red Cross.
Find a drive and schedule a blood donation appointment today.
Take a class and be ready to respond if an emergency strikes.
