Red Cross helping across multiple states as devastating flooding, tornadoes plague Midwest and South

Disaster teams in Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana

WASHINGTON, D.C. April 6, 2025 ─ The American Red Cross has relief operations set up across eight states to help people in an area covering about 240,000 square miles who are impacted by the deadly flooding and tornadoes which have been plaguing the Midwest and South since Wednesday.

The danger isn't over ─ as the rain subsides, flooding is expected to continue for the next several days, even in areas that don't normally flood. The National Weather Service predicts catastrophic flash flooding that "puts lives and property in great danger" will continue as rivers overflow their banks. Almost 70 rivers throughout the region are now at major flood stage or expected to reach those levels this week. Major flood stage means extensive flooding of structures, roadways and critical infrastructure may occur. In addition, there have already been more than 90 tornadoes affecting communities from Kansas to Ohio, and additional tornadoes are possible.

RED CROSS RESPONSE The Red Cross is providing safe shelter, meals and emergency supplies in storm-impacted communities in Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana. More than 770 disaster workers are helping from all across the country, including some 40 emergency shelter teams to making sure people have a safe place to stay. As many as 80 emergency response vehicles are positioned or on stand-by to travel to the impacted areas, and more than a dozen tractor trailers carrying relief supplies have been mobilized. More supplies and volunteers stand ready if necessary.

FIND A SHELTER Emergency shelters are open and anyone who needs a safe place to stay can find shelters on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). You can also follow your local Red Cross or emergency officials on social media, sign up for free local government alerts or monitor local news.

If possible, we encourage people who plan to stay in a shelter to bring prescription medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, other comfort items and important documents. Don't forget to bring any special items for children, such as diapers, formula and toys, or for family members who have unique needs.

Red Cross shelters are open to everyone in need, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability or citizenship status. All disaster assistance is free. We don't require people to show any kind of identification to enter a shelter - just their name and where they were living before the disaster.

We do everything we can to accommodate service animals and domesticated pets comfortably in our shelters. Sometimes, depending on the situation, pets may need to be housed in a different location with support from local partners.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Please click, text or call to support Red Cross Disaster Relief and help people affected by disasters like fires, floods and countless other crises. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.

BE SAFE If you are in the path of this relentless storm system, there are steps to take to help keep you safe. Find information about flooding, tornado and thunderstorm safety here. Download the free Emergency app for weather alerts, open Red Cross shelter locations and safety steps for different emergencies. Choose whether you want to view the content in English or Spanish with an easy-to-find language selector. To download, search "American Red Cross" in app stores, or go to redcross.org/apps.

CLIMATE CRISIS Today, the Red Cross is responding nonstop to new major disasters about every 15 days versus every month a decade ago. These massive events, like storms and wildfires, are on top of the home fires - which upend families multiple times every day across the country. 2025 already witnessed a significant number of big disasters, following 2024, which recorded the second-highest number of billion-dollar disasters in a single year, marked by extreme events such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) Through the generosity of our American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder members, the American Red Cross is prepared before disaster strikes. ADGP and Disaster Responder members help secure a reliable funding base for disaster relief services that enables the Red Cross to respond immediately, meeting the needs of individuals and families affected by disaster.

Mission Leader Members: Amazon; American Airlines; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; Costco Wholesale; State Farm

ADGP $1M Members: American Honda Motor Company; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Chobani; CMA CGM Foundation; Delta Air Lines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; McDonald's Corporation; Merck; Microsoft; Nationwide Foundation; The Pfizer Foundation; Six Four Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo

ADGP $500k Members: ALDI; Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Baxter International Foundation; Boeing; Bread Financial; Capital One; Chick-fil-A; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; DHL Supply Chain; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; GE Aerospace; General Motors; Google.org; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; ; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Mastercard; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; NTT Data; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stryker; Suburban Propane; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Yum! Brands; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Aflac; Albemarle Corporation; The Allstate Foundation; American Family Insurance; American Tire Distributors; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works;; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco and Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; DENSO North America Foundation; The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Dollar Tree; Duke Energy; Erie Insurance; Equitable; Fifth Third Foundation; FirstEnergy Corporation; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; L'Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo ; LKQ; Macy's, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Martin Marietta; Masco Corporation; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Mutual of Omaha; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis; Old Dominion Freight Line; Oxy; Pacific Life Foundation; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reliance, Inc.; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Santander Bank and Santander Consumer USA Foundation Inc. ; Security Finance's Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Stephens; Tata Consultancy Services; Tennant Company; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; Zurich