Donate to Debby disaster relief funds

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Debby has impacted hundreds of families across the Coastal Empire in Georgia and the South Carolina Lowcountry.

The system dumped over a foot of rain in parts of both states, forcing whole neighborhoods to abandon their homes and seek shelter in multiple communities and counties.

According to a news release Friday, hundreds of American Red Cross disaster workers continue to help people impacted by Debby, with more than a dozen shelters open in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas as of Thursday, Aug. 8.

Red Cross officials anticipate shelter locations and the number of people seeking help will continue to rapidly change over the next few days as Debby continues to impact multiple states with heavy rain, the release said. In some areas, the Red Cross is providing basic health services in the shelters and helping to replace items such as eyeglasses and prescription medications.

The storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday, Aug. 5, along the Big Bend region of Florida’s Gulf Coast and then crossed into south Georgia as a tropical storm. Debby then slowly made its way off the coast of Savannah and into the Atlantic Ocean before making a second landfall Thursday near Bulls Bay, South Carolina.

Several options are available for people wanting to donate to relief efforts in the wake of Debby’s destruction.

How to help

Donations to the Red Cross Hurricane Debby Relief Fund can be made by clicking on this link: Donate Now – Online Donations | American Red Cross

The United Way of the Coastal Empire has activated its Rapid Response Disaster Fund for Chatham County. Money raised through the fund will provide response and recovery support to impacted residents in Chatham County.

Donations to that account can be made by clicking on this link: Tropical Storm Debby | United Way of the Coastal Empire (uwce.org)

In South Carolina, the United Way of the Lowcountry, which serves Beaufort and Jasper counties has also set up a fund for local victims of the storm. Donations to that fund can be made at this link: Event Registration – United Way of the Lowcountry (charityproud.org)

Stay with wsav.com and WSAV News 3 for continuing coverage of Debby’s impact on our region and more information on local relief efforts.