Here’s Where to Donate to Hurricane Florence Relief

With Hurricane Florence barreling toward the southern East Coast and set to make landfall by late Thursday and early Friday, many are wondering how they can get ahead of the storm by helping to donate funds or goods to hurricane relief.

Even if you live across the country from the Carolinas and Virginia, there are still ways to help with recovery from the Category 2 storm, which CNN meteorologist Chad Myers says will bring devastating Category 4 storm surges.

WSFB, a Connecticut-based CBS affiliate, reports that Red Cross volunteers from the Northeast are being deployed in anticipation of the storm — which means donating to the Red Cross could be a good way to help those on the front lines of hurricane relief. On the humanitarian organization’s donation section of its website, there is even a Hurricane Florence option you can choose to make sure your funds go directly to hurricane relief.

The charity Americares is also facilitating a Hurricane Florence disaster relief fund. On its website, it says that for every $10 donated, the organization can “provide $100 in aid.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be supplying aid to Hurricane Florence victims as well. Even though FEMA doesn’t take donations or volunteers, the agency notes that those who wish to help can find organizations to donate money, time or resources to via the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) website.

Through NVOAD’s website, you can find South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia’s official state NVOAD chapters, where you can find out more about donating or volunteering.

If you live close to the hurricane’s path, local businesses will most likely be collecting supplies for hurricane victims. For example, News & Advance reports that in Lynchburg, Virginia, Gleaning For The World is accepting supply donations every day from Sept. 11th to Sept. 15th. Check your local newspapers or government websites to discover other ways to donate supplies.

Corporations like Anheuser-Busch are helping in disaster relief, with the beer company sending 300,000 cans of clean drinking water to help the anticipated victims of the storm. The brewery, located in Cartersville, Georgia, started producing cans of water instead of beer after the American Red Cross asked if it could pause beer production in order to can emergency water. Over the last 30 years, Anheuser-Busch has donated almost 80 million cans of emergency water to areas in times of natural disasters, according to a news release.

Other nearby organizations, like East Tennessee’s Knoxville Utilities Board, are embracing the volunteer spirit to assist in the relief effort, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Knoxville Utilities Board has released six crews to parts of the East Coast to assist in restoring power where it may be needed when Florence finally makes landfall. Crews are currently staying at dispatch centers in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In cooperation with other East Tennessee departments, the Knoxville Fire Department has sent swift water rescue personnel and an ambulance bus team to the hurricane relief. They specialize in using boats to check houses and locate people in affected areas after the storm hits. They’re expected to return on Sept. 28.

Emergencies have been declared in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia as rain bands with tropical-storm-force winds are moving toward the shore of the coast. As of 8 a.m. ET Thursday, the center of Florence was about 170 miles east-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and about 220 miles east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to CNN.

Florence’s center will approach the Carolina coasts late Thursday and Friday. As the storm moves inland, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland will also be in danger.

The storm surges are the biggest threat coming out of Florence. Strong winds will send rising water inland from the coastline of the Carolinas, resulting in up to 13 feet of storm surge inundating homes and businesses.