Houston, TX…The remnants of Hurricane Harvey continue to be a threat as extremely dangerous flooding continues in Texas and parts of Louisiana. Getting help to some areas will be challenging for some time due to devastating floodwaters and closed roads. The American Red Cross is working around the clock to provide safe shelter and comfort for the hundreds of thousands of people impacted by this disaster.

Harvey will continue to produce large amounts of rain over the next several days. Millions of people are facing flash flood warnings, including the entire Houston metro area which is under a flash flood emergency. There are reports of people stranded in their homes and water rescues are ongoing. Roads are flooded, rail lines are shut down, airports closed and hundreds of thousands have no power. Numerous hospitals, nursing facilities and dialysis centers are closed.

Hundreds of Red Cross volunteers from all over the country are on the ground now, working to provide safe shelter and comfort to people impacted by this devastating storm. The Red Cross has enough shelter supplies in Texas to support 28,000 people and supplies for an additional 22,000 people are being sent in now.

In addition, tractor trailer loads of ready-to-eat meals, comfort kits, kitchen supplies and cleaning supplies are on the ground in Texas. Nearly half of our emergency response fleet — more than 150 vehicles – have been mobilized. The Red Cross also prepositioned blood products in Houston ahead of the storm to help ensure we can maintain an adequate blood supply over the weekend. We have staged additional blood inventory in Dallas.

Flood Safety Tips

Flooding continues to be an issue in areas affected by Harvey. If you must drive and encounter a flooded roadway while driving, turn around and go another way. Additional tips:

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.
Stay away from floodwaters. If you come upon a flowing stream where water is above your ankles, stop, turn around and go another way.
Keep children out of the water.
Be especially cautious at night when it’s harder to see flood danger.
Continue listening to local area radio, NOAA radio or TV stations for the latest information and updates.
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.

The Red Cross Emergency App

The Emergency App Family Safe feature allows people to check on loved ones and instantly see if they are okay – even if that loved one hasn’t downloaded the Emergency App on their device.

More than 6 million hurricane and flood alerts have been issued through Red Cross mobile apps since the threat of Hurricane Harvey (August 24). The alerts provide people with real-time information so they can help protect themselves and their loved-ones.

How to Help

Help people affected by Hurricane Harvey by visiting redcross.org, calling 1- 800-RED CROSS or texting the word HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster.

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; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; The Clorox Company; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Disney; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; General Motors Foundation; Grainger; The Home Depot Foundation; LDS Charities; Lowe’s Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; State Farm; Target; UPS; VSP Global; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and The Wawa Foundation.

ADGP $500,000 members are: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Boise Paper; Capital One; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation; Discover; Edison International; Farmers Insurance; Ford Motor Company; Humble Bundle; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; McDonald’s Corporation; Medtronic Foundation; Meijer; Merck Foundation; Mondelēz International Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; Procter & Gamble Company; Reynolds American Foundation; Ryder; Southwest Airlines; Sunoco; TD Ameritrade; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; and Wells Fargo.

Disaster Responder Program members are: Adobe; Alcoa; Alliance Data; Astellas USA Foundation; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; AXA; The Ball Foundation; BNY Mellon; CarMax; Cox Automotive; Duke Energy; Entergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; IBM Corporation; IHG Foundation; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Mastercard; Morgan Stanley; Neiman Marcus Group; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Prudential Foundation; SC Johnson; SERVPRO; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; Standard Textile; Toyota; U-Haul International; United Technologies Corporation; The USAA Foundation; U.S. Bank; and Visa.
About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.