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We are so thankful to all of our gracious supporters who have stepped forward to help those affected by Hurricane Florence. Our response is not possible without you. I wanted to share the story of Cheryl, who is currently in a Red Cross shelter in North Carolina. 

A native resident of Jacksonville, NC, the path for Cheryl to return home is still plagued by road closures, flooded streets, downed trees and power lines. Although updates are few and far between, she is hopeful that when she is allowed to return, her home and possessions are untouched by Hurricane Florence. Cheryl uses a wheelchair due to a major medical emergency with her hip several years ago. A team of dedicated health professionals are on hand to provide medical assistance.

A week after Hurricane Florence made landfall, thousands of people in the Carolinas still face immediate danger from devastating river flooding. Hundreds of roads are still impassable, making it difficult to deliver much needed assistance.

• The storm poured an estimated 10 trillion gallons of water across the Carolinas. The rivers are still rising and it could be weeks before the flooding ends.
• Preliminary reports indicate that Hurricane Florence may have impacted some 88,000 homes across the Carolinas.
• With a top rainfall total of nearly 36 inches, Florence shattered North Carolina’s previous record for the highest rainfall total from a tropical system (24 hours) set by Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

The American Red Cross is working around the clock to provide safe shelter, warm meals and comfort for families affected by Florence. Our response covers some 60,000 square miles of the southeast, and with the support of our partners, we’re doing all we can to get help to where it’s needed most.

Here is how your support makes a difference:

• Thousands of Red Cross volunteers are on the ground now helping to operate shelters, assess the damage, deliver food, distribute relief supplies, support disaster health needs and provide emotional support. More workers are standing by to help as rivers slowly go down.
• The National Guard, U.S. Army and Air National Guard are all helping to transport disaster workers, relief supplies and urgently needed blood products via helicopters and high-water vehicles to isolated shelters and a hospital in the region.
• The Red Cross is working with dozens of disaster relief partners including AmeriCorps NCCC, Church of the Brethren Children’s Disaster Services, Save the Children, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and The Salvation Army.
• Since the storm made landfall, the Red Cross and other organizations have provided more than 100,000 overnight stays across the Carolinas and Virginia. The Red Cross has provided 91 percent of these stays.
• More than 140 emergency response vehicles have been mobilized, as well as more than 110 trailers of equipment and supplies, including meals and enough cots and blankets for more than 100,000 people.

If you have not already done so, you can help people affected by Hurricane Florence by making a gift to the Red Cross today. We appreciate your generosity.

With humanity, 

Harvey Johnson 
SVP, Disaster Services 
American Red Cross