Bolstering hurricane recovery for rural and urban communities alike

On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. The storm followed a 600-mile path of destruction over the next three days, devastating communities across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. It left 15 million people without power and millions without water, destroying up to 10,000 homes and damaging nearly 400 roads and highways. Just two weeks later, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, spawning tornadoes, causing widespread flooding and killing 35 people. The cost of the destruction is estimated at more than $85 billion.

The American Red Cross, one of CoBank’s strategic charitable partners, was one of the first organizations on the ground to provide relief following these disasters. Approximately 1,900 Red Cross employees and volunteers coordinated with local officials, government agencies and other nonprofits to reach affected communities. The nonprofit operated more than 35 shelters across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, providing food, clothing and safe havens for impacted individuals and families. CoBank and its partners AgFirst, Farm Credit Bank of Texas and Farmer Mac provided more than $415,000 in contributions to support these efforts.

“Whether living with the impacts of two deadly hurricanes just weeks apart in Florida or the utter devastation in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee from Hurricane Helene, people desperately needed help,” said Gino Grecco, CEO of the American Red Cross, Colorado/Wyoming Region. “The Red Cross and our partners remained on the ground across the Southeast and Appalachia in the weeks and months following the hurricanes. We are thankful for organizations like CoBank that help support our mission and make it possible for us to bring comfort and aid to those in need when they need it most.”

“The multi-state impact and scope of damage resulting from Hurricanes Helene and Milton left hundreds of thousands of people in need of tremendous assistance,” said Tom Halverson, CoBank’s CEO. “We are deeply grateful to the American Red Cross for its tireless efforts to provide people and communities with the assistance and resources they need to begin the process of recovery.”

In addition to its support of the American Red Cross, CoBank contributed to several other local, regional and national disaster relief efforts.

Through a joint effort by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the Cooperative Development Foundation, CoBank contributed $25,000 to the Disaster Recovery Fund in support of electric cooperatives and their employees who were directly impacted by the hurricanes.