Storms raged through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend, killing at least 24 people and leaving a path of destroyed homes and large-scale power outages behind. 

These events are part of a larger cluster of extreme weather events across the U.S. that have marked the first half of 2024. Tornadoes, hail, heavy rain, and thunder have hit numerous communities in the Midwest and South. 

In response to the most recent batch of storms, Direct Relief has contacted Southern primary care associations and local partners to offer support. An emergency shipment is being shipped to Shades of Blue, a Houston-based partner focused on maternal and mental health needs. 

Medical needs are most commonly determined in the weeks following an extreme weather event when the full scale of the damage and required support becomes clear, rather than its immediate aftermath. Direct Relief will continue to communicate with local organizations and remain ready to meet health needs on the ground. 

Past extreme weather events have taught that interruptions to care are particularly dangerous. People living with chronic diseases like hypertension, asthma, and diabetes often lose or are forced to evacuate without their lifesaving medications, and can end up experiencing a deadly medical crisis if these conditions go untreated. 

For these reasons, Direct Relief keeps a cache of essential medications often requested after disasters, as well as personal care items often requested for people displaced from their homes. These medications and supplies are routinely offered to on-the-ground partners responding to or affected by natural disasters and other crises. 

Direct Relief also committed $250,000 to support healthcare needs in Texas’s Harris County area last week and provided medical aid after deadly tornadoes struck the Midwest last month.