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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Join Nexstar Media Group and FOX4 in supporting the American Red Cross and those impacted by Hurricane Ian.

FOX4 is working for you by working directly with the American Red Cross. Wednesday night, more than 33,000 people sought refuge in approximately 260 evacuation shelters across Florida to escape Hurricane Ian.

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The American Red Cross shared the following to shed light on the magnitude of the disaster and how they’re actively helping:

• Some 730 trained Red Cross disaster workers are supporting this relief effort and hundreds more are on the way. This includes Red Cross disaster workers from the Greater Kansas City and Northwest Missouri Chapter area. 

• Before the storm, the Red Cross mobilized 83 truckloads of additional cots, blankets and comfort kits, along with tens of thousands of relief supplies, to be prepared to help as many as 60,000 people. Emergency response vehicles are also pre-positioned across the state.

• The number of people seeking shelter could increase in the coming days as power outages continue and people leave homes that are too damaged to stay in.

• As conditions slowly improve over the coming days, response efforts will expand as evacuation centers transition to emergency shelters with more robust services.

• To help patients in Florida, the Red Cross has sent several hundred blood products to ensure blood remains available for patients in areas impacted by the storm. We stand ready to send additional support as needed.

  • This aerial photo shows damaged homes and debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
  • People in raincoats walk along International Drive in Orlando, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, as the first effects of Hurricane Ian are felt in central Florida. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
  • Curious sightseers walk in the receding waters of Tampa Bay due to the low tide and tremendous winds from Hurricane Ian in Tampa, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP)
  • Boats are pushed up on a causeway after Hurricane Ian passed through the area on September 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. The hurricane brought high winds, storm surge and rain to the area causing severe damage. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
  • Businesses in downtown Fort Myers, Fla., suffered damage from Hurricane Ian Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Fla., Hurricane Ian has left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2.5 million people. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
  • This screengrab from video shared by the City of Sanibel, Florida, shows the impacts of a storm surge from Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28, 2022. (City of Sanibel via Storyful)

It will be days before we know the full scope of the damage that Ian left behind — and the danger isn’t over. Ian is still battering Florida with strong winds and heavy rains, and in the coming days the storm will threaten states as far north as Virginia with even more flooding.

• Ian will make a second landfall Friday with tropical storm warnings out for Georgia and the Carolinas and flooding is possible this weekend across the Appalachians.

• Ian ties with 2004’s Hurricane Charley as the strongest storm to make landfall on the west coast of Florida and is the first significant hurricane to hit the Sunshine State since 2018. As the storm heads north, the Red Cross is working with partners and local officials in several states to be ready to help where needed.

• Powerful storms like Hurricane Ian create widespread devastation and more needs than any one organization can meet on their own. The Red Cross is working closely with the entire response community — government agencies, other non-profit groups, faith-based organizations, area businesses and others — to make sure people get the help they need as quickly as possible.

• This storm, along with the earlier wildfires out west and storms in Puerto Rico and Alaska, are clear examples of the increasing frequency and intensity of climate disasters. Year after year, the Red Cross is supporting families who are struggling to cope.

• During 2020 and 2021 alone, we averaged a new, major disaster response every 10 days with Red Cross volunteers continuously on the ground, setting up shelters, arranging for hot meals and sheltering thousands of people with no place else to go.