Hurricane Ian ripped through western Cuba on Sept. 20, leaving 1 million people without electricity. When it reached Florida on Sept. 28, it had strengthened into a Category 4 Hurricane, delivering 150 mph winds and leaving more than 2.6 million homes and businesses without power.

“The impacts of this storm are historic and the damage that has been done is historic,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “We’ve never seen a flood event like this; we’ve never seen a storm surge of this magnitude.” 

In Cuba, Ian crashed in the Pinar del Rio province where officials had 55 shelters set up, extracted 50,000 people, activated emergency services, and made plans to save the nation’s tobacco-growing regions. The hurricane struck with top winds at 125 mph which increased as it traveled closer to Florida.  Governor Ron DeSantis requested that Floridians prepare for power outages and leave areas forecasted to be hit the hardest by Ian. 

“It is a big storm, it is going to kick up a lot of water as it comes in,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Sarasota, a coastal city with 57,000 residents at risk. “And you’re going to end up with a really significant storm surge and you’re going to end up with a really significant flood event. This is the kind of storm surge that is life threatening.”

After Florida, Ian has stormed over South Carolina, North Carolina, and southern Virginia. The tropical storm has brought calamity over the entire east coast, greatly impacting the residents of the states hit by it. 

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The Bulldog Tribune recognizes the impact of this storm on the Stone Bridge community. Several organizations are on the ground to assist victims in the recovery process. Here is how you can support Hurricane Ian victims:

The State of Florida is working on supporting the victims of Hurricane Ian. Help the victims of Hurricane Ian by donating to the Florida disaster fund here, or by texting “disaster” to 20222.

The American Red Cross is accepting donations for the victims of Hurricane Ian, providing supplies, shelter and other relief. The link to donate can be found here.

Feeding Florida is a subsidy of the nonprofit organization Feeding America. The organization is coordinating with local food banks to provide food for the victims. The donation link can be found here.

Farm Share is a nonprofit that uses leftover fruits and vegetables from farms and distributes them to people across the state. The organization is sending truckloads of food and supplies to the victims. Farm Share asks people to donate here.

Convoy of Hope is a Missouri based nonprofit that is delivering supplies to victims of Hurricane Ian. Donate to Convoy of Hope here. $15 provide one “family hygiene kit” to a family in need.

Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) is a global disaster relief organization that has been serving the victims of disaster since the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The nonprofit said it was providing support to victims in Florida, the donation link can be found here.

Blood donations are also needed for the victims of Hurricane Ian. The American Red Cross has an urgent need for blood donations. Local blood drives can be found by searching your ZIP code here, or by calling 1-800-733-2767. 

This list does not exhaust all 501C3’s involved with Hurricane Ian relief efforts.