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Kentucky Flooding: Hundreds of Red Crossers helping flood victims
August 19, 2022
Long after tragic flooding upturned lives and destroyed hundreds of homes across Eastern Kentucky, the American Red Cross continues to work around the clock with its partners to provide shelter, meals and critical support to help those in need.
Preliminary damage reports indicate hundreds of homes were either destroyed or suffered major damage. The Red Cross is coordinately closely with other community and government partners to ensure people have the help they need as recovery slowly begins.
The devastating damage in eastern Kentucky from the recent flooding is heartbreaking. The American Red Cross is on the scene providing food, shelter, financial assistance, medical care, and mental and spiritual health services to those affected. Photo by Kevin Suttlehan/American Red Cross |
When his apartment in eastern Kentucky flooded, the water rose so quickly that all Jerry Combs could do was grab his wallet and flee. Flee the best he could, because he walks with a prosthetic leg which he had removed at the time. His newest prosthetic was in another room, so he grabbed the nearby older one and made his way a half-mile to the sheriff’s office where he was then taken to a Red Cross shelter. Here, Red Cross Disaster Health Services volunteer Tere Shannon consults with Jerry about discomfort caused by the older prosthetic. Red Cross Disaster Health Services procure prescription medicines, eyeglasses, and other durable medical goods for those who lost them during natural disasters. Photo by Kevin Suttlehan/American Red Cross |
Red Cross Response
More than 430 trained Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground in Kentucky helping to provide a safe place to stay, food to eat, critical relief supplies and emotional support for those affected by this tragedy. Volunteers are also replacing prescription medications, eyeglasses or critical medical equipment, like canes and wheelchairs, which were left behind in the rush to get to safety.
Sunday night, the Red Cross and its partners provided comfort and care for almost 500 residents in numerous shelters across Eastern Kentucky. In the last week, the Red Cross and partners have provided a total of more than 4,500 overnight stays for residents forced to leave their homes.
With the support of local partners, the Red Cross has helped to provide some 56,000 meals and snacks to people in need. In addition, they’ve given out thousands of critical relief items to nearly 800 households.
The devastating damage in eastern Kentucky from the recent flooding is heartbreaking. The American Red Cross is on the scene providing food, shelter, financial assistance, medical care, and mental and spiritual health services to those affected. Photo by Kevin Suttlehan/American Red Cross |
Trained Red Cross volunteers are helping assess the damage in eastern Kentucky after the recent flooding. Hundreds of homes are destroyed or received major damage. Photo by Kevin Suttlehan/American Red Cross |
Red Cross volunteer Fran Boyce delivers a hot meal and a word of encouragement to those affected by the eastern Kentucky flooding. Photo by Kevin Suttlehan/American Red Cross |
Red Cross volunteer Lukas de Saint-Clair stops to visit a young mother and her children, ages 3 and 10 months, who found haven at a Red Cross emergency shelter after the Kentucky flood disaster. Photo by Kevin Suttlehan/American Red Cross |
You can help people affected by disasters like floods, fires and countless other crises by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
For those interested in helping people specifically affected by the recent floods, we ask that they write “Kentucky floods” in the memo line of a check and mail it to their local Red Cross chapter with a completed donation form to the address on the form or to their local Red Cross chapter. Find the donation form at www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html.
The Red Cross stands ready to provide blood and blood products as needed in response to disasters of all sizes. Blood can take up to three days to be tested, processed and made available for patients, so it’s the blood already on the shelves that helps save lives in an emergency. We encourage eligible individuals in unaffected areas to make an appointment to give blood by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting www.redcrossblood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS to help ensure a sufficient blood supply.
This deadly flooding — along with the heavy rainfall in Missouri, explosive wildfires in California and the recent heatwaves — are clear examples of how more intense climate-rated disasters are happening more often and are leaving behind devastation.
Over the last two years, on average, the Red Cross has responded to a new, major disaster every 10 days.
Red Cross volunteers board a boat that will ferry them across a flooded roadway to deliver meals to those affected by the Kentucky flooding disaster. Red Cross teams brought prepared hot meals to the site in emergency response vehicles, ferried them across the flooded roadways by boat, then loaded them onto waiting trucks on the other side for delivery. Photo by Kevin Suttlehan/American Red Cross |
STAY SAFE AS HEAT MOVES IN - With high temperatures blanketing the region, now is the time to drink plenty of fluids, slow down and check on people who are more likely to be affected by high temperatures. Watch out for heat-related illnesses. Signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, headaches and dizziness. Heat stroke is a life-threatening emergency. Signs include hot, red skin, changes in consciousness and vomiting. If someone is experiencing heat stroke, call 911 and cool down their body temperature by submerging them in cold water.
Source: Red Cross
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