More Rain Headed to New England; Red Cross Helping After Catastrophic Flooding

More rain is headed to upstate New York and New England which could bring additional damage to communities already dealing with the devastation caused by this week’s catastrophic flooding. The American Red Cross has mobilized across multiple states to open shelters and provide urgent relief to the affected communities.

The damage began over the weekend, causing major flooding in New York and Pennsylvania. The storm then moved north to New England, bearing down on Vermont. Vermont officials are cautioning residents that the danger isn’t over and report that multiple homes and businesses are damaged, there have been more than 200 rescues, several areas are cut off due to flooding, and many roads have been washed away, stranding motorists traveling through the region.

Trained disaster workers are working around the clock to provide safe shelter, food, emergency relief supplies and more to those in need. As soon as it safe to do so, Red Cross teams will be circulating in the affected areas, helping with damage assessment and distributing relief supplies. These teams will reach more neighborhoods every day as roads become passable. People are welcome to stop by a shelter to get information, a hot meal, charge their phone, and get other essential support.

FIND A SHELTER Be safe, listen to the advice of emergency officials and don’t return home until it is safe to do so. You can find open shelters on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) and selecting the disaster option. You can also find shelters by following your local county and city officials on social media or monitoring local news.

YOU CAN HELP people affected by disasters like flooding 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. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767), or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. 

For those interested in helping people specifically affected by the Vermont Floods, we ask that they write “Vermont Floods” in the memo line of a check and mail it with a completed donation form to the address on the form or to their local Red Cross chapter.

PLEASE GIVE BLOOD This disaster is forcing the cancellation of some Red Cross blood drives. We urge eligible individuals in unaffected areas to give blood or platelets to ensure a sufficient blood supply for patients. Schedule an appointment today by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

CLIMATE CRISIS The climate crisis is driving extreme weather conditions across the country with the ongoing flooding in the Northeast and extreme heat in the south. Some experts say with the arrival of El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, the situation may get worse. As these extreme weather disasters increase, more people need help from the Red Cross. Find out more about the Red Cross and its work on the climate crisis here.

FLOODING SAFETY

Turn around, don’t drown. Stay off the roads. If you must drive and encounter a flooded roadway while driving, turn around and go another way. 

• If your neighborhood is prone to flooding, be prepared to evacuate quickly if necessary.
• Follow evacuation orders and do not attempt to return until officials say it is safe to do so. Follow evacuation routes and do not try to take shortcuts because they may be blocked.
• If you are caught on a flooded road and waters are rising rapidly around you, get out of the car quickly and move to higher ground. Most cars can be swept away by less than two feet of moving water.
• Head for higher ground and stay there.
• Be especially cautious at night when it’s harder to see flood danger.
• Stay away from floodwaters. Beware of snakes, insects and other animals that may be in or around floodwaters and your home.  
• Keep children and pets away from hazardous sites and floodwaters.  
• Do not use water that could be contaminated to wash dishes, brush teeth, prepare food, wash hands, make ice or make baby formula. 
• Offer help to people who require special assistance including older adults, those without transportation, large families, people with disabilities and the people who care for them. 
• If power lines are down outside your home, do not step in puddles or standing water. Report them immediately to the power company. 
• If any gas or electrical appliances were flooded, don’t use them until they have been checked for safety. 
• Dispose of any food that has come into contact with flood water. 
• Take pictures of home damage, both of the buildings and its contents, for insurance purposes.
   

DOWNLOAD OUR APPS 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. Choose whether you want to view the content in English or Spanish with an easy-to-find language selector. 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.

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, regardless of cost.

ADGP $1M Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Best Buy; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Caterpillar Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; PayPal; PetSmart Charities; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and Wells Fargo.

ADGP $500K Members: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bread Financial; Capital One; CarMax; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; Dollar General; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company Fund; Fox Corporation; General Motors; Google.org The Home Depot Foundation; International Paper; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; Kaiser Permanente; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mastercard; Merck; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; Salesforce; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; and The Wawa Foundation.

ADGP $250K Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; The AES Corporation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Big 5 Sporting Goods; Build-A-Bear Foundation; CDW; Choice Hotels International; Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; DHL Supply Chain; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Duke Energy; Dutch Bros Foundation; Equitable; FirstEnergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Healthcare; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; LHC Group; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Foundation, Inc.; Martin Marietta; Mattress Firm; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; The Middleby Corporation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Northrop Grumman; Northwestern Mutual; Old Dominion Freight Line; Organon; Pacific Life Foundation; Procter & Gamble; Prudential; Raytheon Technologies; Reckitt; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Project, a project of New Venture Fund; Ross Stores Foundation; Ryder System, Inc.; Santander; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Stanley Black & Decker; Southwest Airlines; Tata Consultancy Services; U-Haul International; U.S. Bank Foundation; and Zurich.