Local Red Cross staff sent to help with Harvey flooding

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The threat from Hurricane Harvey is far from over, as extremely dangerous flooding continues in Texas and parts of Louisiana.

42 Red Cross of Eastern NC volunteers/staff members were sent to Texas and Louisiana, 16 of which are from the Cape Fear Area Chapter. Red Cross also sent four out of seven of our emergency response vehicles from Eastern NC to the Gulf Coast.

National Red Cross response to Hurricane Harvey:

• More than 1,800 people took refuge from the deadly storm Saturday night in 34 Red Cross and community shelters in Texas. In Louisiana, one shelter is open where 8 people spent Saturday night. These numbers are expected to grow and dozens of additional shelters could open.
• Thousands of Red Cross volunteers from all over the country are on the ground now, working around the clock 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 Red Cross emergency response fleet — more than 150 vehicles – have been mobilized.
• The Red Cross also propositioned blood products in Houston ahead of the storm to help ensure we can maintain an adequate blood supply. We staged additional blood inventory in Dallas.
• More than 6 million hurricane and flood alerts have been issued through Red Cross mobile apps since Thursday. The alerts provide people with real-time information so they can help protect themselves and their loved-ones.

The Red Cross depends on financial donations to be able to provide disaster relief immediately. 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