Photo: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
Late last week, Hurricane Helene made landfall into Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm with winds of over 140 miles per hour. The hurricane — the strongest on record to ever hit the state’s Big Bend region — was downgraded to a tropical depression as it continued its 500-mile path of destruction across the Southeast, leveling homes, causing catastrophic flooding, and killing at least 111 people in six states. More than 2 million homes and businesses in the region are currently without power, and CNN reports that in Asheville, North Carolina, floodwaters have shut down roadways, complicating evacuation efforts and preventing the delivery of critical relief supplies. Cell-phone and internet signals in the storm’s wake are either spotty or down, making it difficult for victims to try to get in touch with hundreds of unaccounted for friends and family members, and many communities, including Asheville, are struggling to get fresh water.
Impacted states are setting off on what’s likely to be a long and difficult rebuilding process. Below, a few ways you can help.
Donate to the American Red Cross as it works to provide disaster relief from Florida to Tennessee.
The Salvation Army is accepting donations to provide meals to those in affected areas.
GlobalGiving is accepting donations to provide emergency supplies and meals to Helene survivors and frontline workers in Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, and Cuba.
Feeding Tampa Bay’s emergency response team is collecting donations to distribute food, hygiene items, and water to those impacted by Helene.
Donate to the Pasco Education Foundation, which has partnered with Gulf High School to collect donations for Florida families impacted by Helene, according to a Facebook post about the drive.
Donate to DayOne Relief, a North Carolina–based nonprofit raising funds to serve under-resourced and marginalized communities in the wake of disaster.
Pilots and volunteers at Operation Airdrop are collecting supplies and monetary donations to fly to those isolated in North Carolina’s hard-to-reach mountain regions.
Donate to Hope Mill, Inc., which is also flying in water and other critical relief supplies to those isolated in the mountains.
The nonprofit Hearts With Hands has been supplying shelters in North Carolina’s Buncombe County shelters with food and other essentials. You can donate here.
On-the-ground volunteers at BeLoved Asheville are collecting and distributing disaster-relief supplies. The organization is looking for volunteers to help deliver supplies, or you can donate here.
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