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2025 Hurricane Season Nears as U.S. and Caribbean Continue Rebuilding from 2024 Storms

Direct Relief’s ongoing support for communities affected by Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton exceeds $42 million in medical aid and $9 million in financial assistance.

News

Hurricanes

A storm damaged apartment complex in a landscape scarred by Hurricane Helene on March 24, 2025, near Swannanoa, North Carolina. More than six months after the historic storm, communities in western North Carolina continue the recovery process. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
By Staff

With the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season officially beginning on June 1, many communities across the United States and Caribbean are still recovering from the devastating impacts of the 2024 storm season.

Since Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton made landfall last year, Direct Relief has provided more than $50 million in aid to affected areas—$42 million in medical resources and $9 million in financial support.

Hurricane Beryl

Members of the Office of Eastern Caribbean States, or OECS, load Direct Relief field medic packs and a hurricane preparedness pack into a helicopter in St. Lucia, in preparation for transport to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. (Photo courtesy of OECS)

Hurricane Beryl broke records in late June 2024 as the earliest Category 5 Atlantic storm, tearing from Grenada and Jamaica across the eastern Caribbean, brushing Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, and finally striking Texas.

Direct Relief’s support tracked the storm from beginning to end:

  • Pre-positioned aid: A hurricane preparedness pack (enough medicines and supplies for 1,000 people for 30 days) and field medic packs, staged in St. Lucia, were moved to Grenada ahead of landfall. Medical cots and large tents from Direct Relief’s Puerto Rico stockpile reached Carriacou Island on July 8, enabling the Ministry of Health to set up emergency wards and shelters.
  • Caribbean Aid: Since June 2024, Direct Relief has supplied $6.7 million in medical aid—more than 1.6 million defined-daily-dose equivalents of medication. Shipments covered chronic-disease drugs, PPE, nutritionals, and targeted dengue-response supplies requested by health authorities, and field medic packs have equipped Medical Professionals on a Mission, whose volunteer clinicians reach isolated communities throughout the Caribbean. An additional $3 million grant to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States is strengthening regional disaster-readiness and public-health capacity.
  • Texas Aid: After Beryl’s U.S. landfall, Direct Relief dispatched emergency health kits, insulin and diabetes supplies, naloxone, prenatal vitamins, personal-care items, and other requested materials to clinics across the state. To date, Texas facilities have received $7.8 million in medical support, ensuring care continuity for storm-affected communities.

Hurricane Beryl

A Houston Clinic Meets Urgent Needs, Protects Long-Term Health in Beryl’s Aftermath

Hurricane Beryl

Caribbean Rapid Response Medical Team Prepares for Hurricane

hURRICANE bERYL

Hurricane Impacts: Damaged Clinics, No Running Water, Compromised Vaccines

Hurricanes Helene and Milton

Back-to-back hurricanes struck the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic in late 2024. Hurricane Helene, a powerful Category 4 storm, hit Florida’s Big Bend region on September 29 before sweeping through Georgia, the Carolinas, and into Virginia.

Just days later, Hurricane Milton followed a similar path, exacerbating the damage left behind. Together, the storms caused deadly tornadoes, widespread flooding, and left millions without power.

Since landfall, Direct Relief has provided more than $32 million in assistance, including $27 million in medical aid and $5.8 million in financial support to health providers across the hardest-hit states.

Emergency medical aid departs Direct Relief’s warehouse on Sept. 30, 2024, bound for Evara Health in Clearwater, Fla. The shipment included 23 field medic packs for care outside clinic walls and personal care items for people displaced by Hurricane Helene. (Photo by Lara Cooper/Direct Relief)

State-by-State Support:

  • North Carolina – $13.4 million worth of medical aid, $2,833,000 in financial support (Hurricane Helene)
  • Florida – $8 million worth of medical aid, $2,557,000 in financial support (Hurricanes Helene and Milton)
  • Tennessee – $3.2 million worth of medical aid, $350,000 in financial support (Hurricane Helene)
  • South Carolina – $2.2 million worth of medical aid (Hurricane Helene)
  • Georgia – $568k in product, $100,000 in financial support (Hurricane Helene)
  • Virginia – $174k worth of medical aid (Hurricane Helene)

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Direct Relief delivered hundreds of specifically requested shipments to more than 90 healthcare facilities across Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Supplies included antibiotics, medications for chronic conditions, epinephrine, vaccines, personal protective equipment, oral rehydration salts, and water purification tablets.

Direct Relief staff delivered medical support to NC MedAssist, a charitable pharmacy in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Oct. 7, 2024, as part of Hurricane Helene response efforts. NC MedAssist ships medications across the state, primarily to patients who are uninsured, and the organization recently received requested medications from Direct Relief, including tetanus vaccines to protect those involved in storm cleanup, and epinephrine injections for those allergic to bees and yellowjackets, which have been a concern, post-storm. The organization also received Direct Relief field medic packs and emergency medicines and supplies to support mobile health efforts in storm-affected areas. (David Uttley/Direct Relief)

In North Carolina, Direct Relief staff personally delivered support to NC MedAssist, a statewide charitable pharmacy serving uninsured patients. The organization received tetanus vaccines for cleanup crews, epinephrine for insect-sting reactions, and field medic packs for mobile health outreach.

With many facilities damaged, staff displaced, and access to utilities disrupted, Direct Relief issued emergency operating grants to help providers maintain services. Funding supported essential supplies, staffing, repairs, and care for patients with injuries, chronic conditions, mental health needs, and disrupted prenatal care.

Direct Relief staff delivered medical aid to NC MedAssist in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 7, 2024, as part of Hurricane Helene response efforts. The statewide charitable pharmacy, which serves primarily uninsured patients, received tetanus vaccines, epinephrine, field medic packs, and other emergency supplies to support storm recovery and mobile outreach. (Photo by David Uttley for Direct Relief)

Though less intense than initially feared, Hurricane Milton worsened conditions in already battered communities. Power outages, flooding, and tornadoes created urgent medical needs in places like the Spanish Lakes senior community, where Oceana Community Health deployed two mobile clinics even before the storm made landfall. Direct Relief supported the response with medical supplies and emergency funding.

2025 Hurricane Season: Looking Ahead

As the new hurricane season begins, Direct Relief remains committed not only to response, but to helping communities better withstand future storms.

That commitment includes strengthening local supply chains, expanding backup power capacity at healthcare facilities, and ensuring frontline providers have access to the resources needed to safeguard vulnerable populations.

By working in close coordination with trusted local partners and building on lessons from previous responses, Direct Relief continues to invest in scalable, high-impact solutions that protect health and improve disaster readiness—before, during, and after the storm.

hURRICANE hELENE

A North Carolina Pharmacy Confronts Destroyed Roads, Downed Lines to Fight Helene Health Threat

hURRICANE hELENE

Months After Helene’s Floodwaters Receded, North Carolina Communities Still Recovering

Hurricane Milton

Florida Retirement Community Devastated Before Hurricane Milton’s Landfall

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