Hurricane Debby

During the first week of August, the American Red Cross began pre-positioning people and supplies from Florida to North Carolina ahead of the landfall of Hurricane Debby.

Hurricane Debby did not behave like your average category one hurricane. The storm did bring life threatening wind speeds and dangerous storm surges to Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, but the biggest threat that Hurricane Debby delivered upon her landfall was catastrophic levels of rainfall. The storm dumped month's worth of rain in just a few days in Florida and Georgia before briefly heading back into the Atlantic. There, the storm hovered over hot, moist water that allowed it to recharge before turning back towards the Carolinas.

As of Wednesday August 7, Hurricane Debby has brought over 18 inches of rain to some areas and is likely to bring nearly 30 inches of rain by the end of the week. This rainfall will break the previous rainfall record of 23 inches set by Hurricane Florence back in 2018.

The Red Cross had been tracking what would turn into Hurricane Debby days before the storm had fully formed and quickly sprang into action to prepare for landfall. People and materials were strategically pre-staged in Florida, Georgia and into the Carolinas that would allow Red Cross disaster responders to set up evacuation centers, support partners and provide life saving service to those in the path of the storm.

People urgently need your help now. In addition to Debby’s onslaught on the southeast, the storm’s torrential rains are exacerbating the  national blood shortage  announced by the Red Cross on Monday.

You can help by making a financial donation or an appointment to give blood or platelets by visiting  redcross.org  or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). Financial donations to Hurricane Debby will enable the Red Cross to prepare, respond and help people recover from this disaster.

The storm has forced the cancelation of more than two dozen blood drives in the Southeast, causing hundreds of lifesaving blood products to go uncollected. Eligible donors in unaffected areas are urged to make an appointment to give as soon as possible.

We encourage anyone who needs a place to stay or a warm meal to come to a Red Cross shelter. Our shelters are safe for everyone, regardless of citizenship status. We won’t ask for any kind of identification, and we don’t share resident information with the government. 

Find shelter information on   redcross.org  , the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). You can also find shelters by following your local Red Cross and local emergency officials on social media, or by monitoring local news.