John:

All of us at Save the Children are heartbroken after extreme flooding devastated communities in Texas over the weekend — taking more than 100 lives, including dozens of children. The search for the missing is still underway, and for families who’ve lost loved ones, the grief is unimaginable.

Right now, our teams are assessing current needs with local partners, while we aren’t directly responding at this time. For now, the response appears to be well covered by strong local entities, including emergency management services and a surge of local volunteers.

There are still clear child-focused needs — especially in areas like emergency cash assistance, mental health and trauma support, and guidance to caregivers and educators — that align with Save the Children’s core areas of expertise. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated if we begin emergency response efforts.

In the meantime, please consider supporting these trusted organizations that are currently mobilizing in response to this tragedy:
 

• Children’s Disaster Services provides trained volunteers to offer specialized emotional support and care for children in disaster shelters and recovery sites. Learn more and rush your support >>
• The Salvation Army in Kerrville delivers emergency disaster services, including mass feeding, sheltering, spiritual care and resource distribution in affected communities. Learn more and rush your support >>
• Texas Search and Rescue (TEXSAR) is a volunteer-based organization that supports local authorities with search and rescue, flood response and disaster recovery operations across Texas. Learn more and rush your support >>
• Catholic Charities of San Antonio offers a wide range of disaster relief and long-term recovery services, including case management, food, shelter and financial assistance to at-risk families. Learn more and rush your support >>

As part of our mission to support children worldwide, we work with local partners in the aftermath of emergencies like severe storms and flooding to ensure children are safe — and we mobilize our emergency response wherever our support is needed most.

To learn more about how our teams respond in the aftermath of a flooding emergency and how to keep children safe, visit our Flooding Emergency Response resource center.

Thanks for your support. I’ll be in touch if there are further developments in our response to this weekend’s tragedy in Texas.

For now, hold your loved ones close and keep the affected families in your hearts.

In solidarity,

James Orlando
Managing Director, US Emergencies
Save the Children