Hurricane Helene made landfall late on Thursday, September 26th in the Big Bend region of Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm, with winds reaching extreme speeds. The storm caused significant destruction, resulting in multiple fatalities and widespread power outages across several southeastern states, including Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. After weakening to a tropical storm, Helene continued to pose threats, such as heavy winds, flash floods and landslides, affecting millions across the region. Communities in Georgia, the Carolinas and the southern Appalachians remained on high alert for further storm-related hazards, while parts of northwest and north Florida faced record-breaking flooding.

Emergency declarations were issued at the federal and state levels, underscoring the severity of the disaster. To date, the storm has broken records of rainfall, flooding, location and storm strength and size across the affected states. Hurricane Helene is the fourth hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast this year and the strongest storm in recorded history to make landfall at the Big Bend.

International Medical Corps is a pre-approved responder with the State of Florida and the Florida Department of Health. Ahead of Hurricane Helene, we deployed a small team to Florida to coordinate with the Department of Health. Operations are moving to Tallahassee to support the response. We have reviewed prepositioned supplies and are coordinating with Primary Care Associations and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to assist as needed.

Since 2005, International Medical Corps has responded to US and Caribbean emergencies, starting with Hurricane Katrina. We partner with national, state, and local healthcare systems to address challenges and deploy emergency teams in disasters. Our response efforts include the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2012's Superstorm Sandy, 2017's Hurricane Maria, 2018's Hurricane Michael and more. In the past seven years, we've supported over 6 million patients across 18 states and territories through partnerships with more than 275 hospitals, clinics, and health facilities.

Help us respond to Hurricane Helene's devastation. Your donation will support lifesaving efforts and provide medical care, supplies, and relief to affected communities.

Your Support can Save Lives!

By supporting this project or creating a giving opportunity of your own, you can make a lifesaving difference for families affected by crises in the US and worldwide.

With the support of our global community, in 2023, we:

• reached nearly 16.5 million people affected by armed conflict, natural disasters and disease outbreaks;
• delivered 9,331,598 primary healthcare consultations;
• trained 107,202 people on health, mental health, protection and nutrition-related topics; and
• assisted 2,375,098 people with vital nutrition support.

Join International Medical Corps in our mission to build a healthier and more hopeful world for all in 2024.

*Please Note for recurring donations: Once we have determined that the community can continue to respond to the after-effects of this emergency without us, we will scale back our response efforts. At that time, we will redirect your future donations where they are needed most to help us respond to future outbreaks of conflict, disease or disaster.