Hurricane Isaias: what relief groups are Asking Donors For.

Hurricane Isaias was expected to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast late Friday, October 9, or early Saturday, October 10, the American Red Cross said on Thursday, October 8. As of 5 p.m. EDT that day, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was forecast to strengthen into a strong Category 2 hurricane before reaching the extreme western Florida Panhandle, according to Governor Ron DeSantis's office.

Florida and Alabama have declared states of emergency, the Red Cross said. In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey ordered all non-residents, tourists and visitors to leave Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Zone 1 in Mobile County, which includes all of Dauphin Island, effective 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Gulf Coast Media reported.

What the Red Cross has in place

The Red Cross said Thursday that more than 370 trained disaster workers were supporting the response, many of them local, and that evacuation shelters able to house several thousand people have been identified across Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. It is sending cots, blankets, comfort kits, shelf-stable meals and other relief items to be staged across the region, and it prepositioned blood products around the Gulf Coast before landfall.

It asked people in areas the storm will not reach to give blood, noting that it is watching the blood supply because high winds could cause power outages. For money, it pointed donors to Red Cross Disaster Relief at redcross.org, 1-800-RED CROSS, or a text of the word REDCROSS to 90999.

It said anyone affected by the storm is welcome to stop by a shelter. "We don't ask for identification, and you don't have to stay overnight," the Red Cross said.

Florida's message to donors

The governor's Thursday update included a section on volunteer and nonprofit coordination. Volunteer Florida has begun coordinating calls with partners in Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, known as VOAD, and is identifying places to pre-stage flood and cleanup kits, hygiene kits and tools.

The agency is also reinforcing a strategy it calls "Cash, Confirm, Connect," which the update says is meant to support coordinated, needs-based donations and volunteer engagement. It is encouraging partners to document all donated resources, in-kind contributions and volunteer hours. For valuation and reporting, the update gives $34.88 per volunteer hour as the latest published Florida-specific value.

Separately, the state's Department of Children and Families said it is working with private sector partners to position more than 140 pallets of food, 48 pallets of water and hot meal providers.

Before you give

In our view, four things matter this week.

1. Send money to groups already working there. The Red Cross and Florida's partners are staging supplies now. Cash lets them buy what the response turns out to need.
2. Confirm before you collect goods. Florida is stressing coordinated, needs-based giving. Before running a supply drive, ask a local organization whether it wants the items and can store them.
3. Give blood if you are outside the storm's path. The Red Cross asked for donations from areas Isaias will not reach.
4. If your nonprofit is in the path, keep records. Florida is asking partners to log donated goods, in-kind gifts and volunteer hours, and it has published a value for each hour.