American Red Cross Hurricane Response – By the Numbers – October 2017

In Naguabo, Puerto Rico, Red Cross volunteers distribute water, food and other basic necessities to families affected by Hurricane Maria. (Photo by Sergio Rojas for The American Red Cross)

In the last seven weeks, the American Red Cross has launched wide-ranging relief efforts to help people devastated by three historic, back-to-back hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and Maria. And now, the Red Cross is helping families affected by deadly wildfires in California that are devastating entire neighborhoods just days after a fourth hurricane, Nate made landfall in Mississippi. The Red Cross is on the ground, part of a large team of agencies and organizations responding to provide help to communities turned upside down.

Overall Hurricane Response Efforts

• ·         In the last seven weeks, the Red Cross, along with community and government partners, has provided more than 1.2 million (1,275,000) overnight stays in emergency shelters. Shelters were opened in 8 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This includes—

o   For Harvey, 429,000 overnight shelter stays in Texas and Louisiana.

o   For Irma, more than 647,000 overnight shelter stays across six states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

o   For Maria, more than 198,000 overnight stays in primarily government shelters across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• ·         The Red Cross has served more than 6.4 million (6,467,000) meals and snacks, and provided more than 3 million (3,070,000 relief items to people in need.
• ·         Red Cross volunteers have provided more than 180,000 mental health and health services to support and care for those affected.
• ·         A total of nearly 16,000 trained disaster workers, 91 percent of them volunteers, have been mobilized to support hurricane relief efforts. Many of these workers have supported multiple relief operations or deployed multiple times. In addition, nearly 6,000 spontaneous local volunteers have worked alongside the Red Cross in Texas and Florida.
• ·          More than 100 Red Cross workers from around the world deployed to the United States to help with hurricane relief efforts.
• ·         Right now, more than 2,500 Red Cross disaster workers and more than 230 emergency response vehicles are on the ground, helping thousands of people affected by these storms.

The Tennessee Region of the American Red Cross has deployed nearly 200 staff and volunteers to affected areas, serving in numerous capacities. Thank you to all who have served and continue to serve!