--- title: Hurricane Michael Devastated Florida and the Southeast. Here’s How You Can Help the Victims description: Hurricane Michael left a path of destruction and devastation. Here's how you can help victims with donations, relief workers. authors: - name: Jennifer Calfas url: https://money.com/author/jennifer-calfas/ at_money_since: 2017 articles: 339 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/jencalfas former_staff: true published: '2018-10-12T16:16:35.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T11:01:57.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - Charity - onetime word_count: 568 canonical: https://money.com/hurricane-michael-victims-how-to-help-relief-donations/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Florida Panhandle Faces Major Destruction After Hurricane Michael Hits As Category 4 Storm](https://img.money.com/2018/10/181012-hurricane-michael-how-to-help.jpg) *People walk along a street blocked by a building after Hurricane Michael passed through the area on October 11, 2018 in Mexico Beach, Florida. The hurricane hit the panhandle area with category 4 winds causing major damage.* Hurricane Michael, the [most powerful hurricane](https://time.com/5421189/hurricane-michael-category/) to hit the continental U.S. in over 50 years, left a path of damage and destruction this week when it made landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a Category 4 storm. [Hurricane Michael's death toll rose to 13](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/us/hurricane-michael-live-updates-florida.html) as of Friday morning. Since making landfall, Michael has been downgraded to a tropical storm, and [thousands of homes](https://time.com/5421134/hurricane-michael-mexico-beach-storm-videos/) were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people were left without power as it produced flash flooding and heavy winds in Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. Here's how you can help those impacted by the unprecedented storm and support relief efforts. ## Hurricane Michael Relief Efforts and Donations There are a number of charities you can donate to that will help support relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of the storm. But be sure to [check each organization's credibility](https://money.com/kenneth-feinberg-orlando-shooting-donations/); natural disasters can often become hotbeds for [fraud and scams.](https://money.com/harvey-charity-scams/) Charity Navigator, an organization that evaluates charities, [has a page](https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=6806) that includes the names of reputable charities you could donate to. Those organizations include [American Red Cross](https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2018/michael-storm-coming-to-southeast-get-ready-now.html), [World Hope International](https://www.worldhope.org/give/hurricane-michael/#), [International Relief Teams](https://www.irteams.org/donate/hurricane-michael), [Direct Relief](https://www.directrelief.org/emergency/hurricane-michael/), [DonorsChoose.org](https://www.donorschoose.org/hurricane-michael), and [Matthew 25: Ministries](https://m25m.org/disaster/hurrmichael18/), among several others. While many of these organizations are focused on immediate relief efforts by providing shelter and supplies, some specialize in providing medical care and aid for those impacted. Americares is sending teams to help health care centers in Florida. The [American Kidney Fund](https://secure2.convio.net/akf/site/SPageNavigator/df_id/2018michael.html?_ga=2.200786026.596823245.1539265371-1796721986.1539265371) is using donations "to assist dialysis patients affected by Hurricane Michael." And [International Medical Corps](https://internationalmedicalcorps.org/emergency-response/hurricane-michael/) is working with the Florida Department of Health to assist patients. GoFundMe has a page filled with verified campaigns that will help victims of the storm. You can choose to donate to specific campaigns like [this one](https://www.gofundme.com/wmm-panama-city-recovery-effort), which will help fund relief efforts in Panama City, Fla., or [this one](https://www.gofundme.com/hurricane-michael-horse-relief-fund), which is collecting donations for a veterinarian taking care of horses and other animals impacted by the hurricane. Be sure to consult GoFundMe's official page to be sure the campaign you're donating to is verified. Global Giving, an international crowdfunding organization, [has also set up a donation page](https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/hurricane-michael-relief-fund/) with the Disaster Recovering Network for Hurricane Michael victims. The organization says the donations will initially help immediate relief efforts, then fund longer-term recovery projects. ## Housing for Hurricane Michael Victims and Relief Workers Airbnb [is encouraging](https://www.airbnb.com/welcome/evacuees/hurricanemichael) its hosts with homes located near impacted areas to house displaced residents and relief workers for free until Oct. 29. More than 800 hosts have made their homes available. You can sign up to open your home or find a home to stay in, if needed, [here](https://www.airbnb.com/welcome/evacuees/hurricanemichael). Samaritan's Purse, one of the charities approved by Charity Navigator, works specifically on rebuilding efforts for communities destroyed or damaged in natural disasters. You can donate to the organization or sign up to volunteer in rebuilding efforts [here](https://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/hurricane-michael-barrels-toward-florida-panhandle-please-pray/). ## Find Blood Donation Centers Though Hurricane Michael caused blood drives to suspend operations during the storm, organizations are working to ensure donors can give blood now. The Red Cross is encouraging people unaffected by the storm to donate blood. Interested donors can sign up for an appointment [here](https://www.redcrossblood.org/) or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. One Blood is also encouraging donors to give blood at centers across the country. Their operations in Florida and across the Southeast were temporarily impacted by the storm, but One Blood has provided an update on where and when people can donate [here](https://www.oneblood.org/media/press-releases/oneblood-resumes-partial-operations-in-the-panhandle-following-hurricane-michael.stml). ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/hurricane-michael-victims-how-to-help-relief-donations/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Weather", "item": "https://money.com/weather/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hurricane Michael Devastated Florida and the Southeast. 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