The British Red Cross is here for humanity and ready to help people when disaster strikes.
In any emergency, the British Red Cross is ready to respond when floods, earthquakes and disasters turn people's lives upside down. Together, we bring hope and life-changing help to anyone who needs it, no matter who or where they are – and have done for over 150 years.
24 hours a day, seven days a week, our expert teams need to be ready to mobilise and respond to any emergency. The support we provide once there may be wrapping a blanket around someone who has lost their home in a house fire. Or we could be managing a rest centre for communities to access shelter and support services after a major incident. We have a fleet of emergency response vehicles positioned at strategic points across the UK ready to deploy within minutes of an emergency.
This wouldn’t be possible without the support of donors, including British Airways, who are enabling the British Red Cross to:
- Respond to UK emergencies approximately every four hours
- Provide practical and emotional support to those affected and response teams on the ground
- Invest in equipment/vehicles to improve our responses’ effectiveness
- Innovate services to strengthen British Red Cross’ community resilience work
Because there’s no other movement like ours. But we need you. Together, we can be here for people when they need it most. Together, we can be here when disaster strikes and for years to come. Together, with your support, we are the world’s emergency responders.
Responding to extreme weather in the UK
Every day British Red Cross staff and volunteers are out there preparing for or responding to emergencies. Across the UK, their message is the same: nowadays most of the biggest emergencies they respond to are extreme weather related.
And they are happening more often and getting worse because of climate change. It's putting more and more people in danger of crises such as flooding and displacement.
We’re observing an increase in deaths in the UK linked to extreme heat and plenty of people were forced out of their homes by the impact of storm after storm last winter.
But getting people through emergencies is what the Red Cross has always done. Our teams are already there for vulnerable communities pushed into crisis - and will continue to be so.
Thanks to British Airways’ support of the British Red Cross’ UK emergency response service, we are able to fund this vital work. This means we can be on the ground, working side by side with communities, listening to what people need right now.
Mike and Susan’s story
The end of October and beginning of November saw storms Babet and Ciarán impacted hundreds of people, thousands of homes, and infrastructure across the UK. Throughout these storms there were consistent yellow and red weather warnings for rain and floods. Record breaking levels of rain fell, with the most severe impacts hitting the north of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Emergency Response (ER) teams across the country provided assistance through rest centres, distributing information, essential items, and conducting welfare checks in affected areas. For over a week, teams were responding constantly to requests for support.
Volunteers Mike and Susan were part of the emergency response team which helped rural and isolated residents in Aberdeenshire during Storm Babet. Mike, 60, who has been volunteering for the British Red Cross for a number of years said: “Our team went out, we did a lot of knocking on doors to see how people were. Before the storm we had already helped Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks pack bags of emergency food, gloves, and hats. And then we handed those out to people as we saw the need”.
For information on British Red Cross' refund policy, please see here: https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/donate/donation-questions/making-a-donation#RefundPolicy
Pictured at the top of the page: Ann is with volunteers at the Red Cross rest centre © David Severn/British Red Cross
Pictured bottom of the page: Susan and Michael are emergency response volunteers in Aberdeen, supporting local communities during Storm Babet in October 2023 © Peter Summers/British Red Cross