UK Crisis appeal: help people prepare for severe weather
Our teams are there 365 days a year to help people prepare for and recover from emergencies.
One area that our UK Crisis appeal supports is climate-related disasters. Every year in the UK, thousands of people are impacted by severe weather. Floods can take lives and destroy homes. House fires can leave families with nothing.
We all hope moments like these never come. But when they do, your support means that the British Red Cross can provide comfort, safety and hope when it's needed the most. That's why we work with partners like the Met Office.
The British Red Cross’s 150 years of frontline emergency response, combined with the Met Office’s world-leading climate and weather expertise, means we are uniquely positioned to help communities before, during and after severe weather events and in times of increasing humanitarian need.
Across the UK, climate change is no longer a distant threat - it’s already reshaping our lives. Heatwaves are becoming hotter and more frequent, rainfall more intense, and storms more destructive. Extreme weather events have a serious impact on people: flooded homes, rising health risks during heatwaves, and increasing pressure on essential services. But together, we can change the story. We can’t prevent every emergency. But we can ensure people are ready long before crisis hits.
Donate to support our climate response and wider humanitarian crisis work across the UK now
Being prepared saves lives
When people know what’s coming - and how to prepare - lives are saved, homes are protected, and recovery is faster. Evidence shows that every £1 invested in preparedness saves around £15 in emergency response costs.
Your donation could help us reach more communities with lifesaving information, practical support, and tools to protect the most vulnerable before disaster strikes.
We are investing in long-term preparedness so communities can better withstand future shocks. Our community resilience hubs bring together local authorities, volunteers and neighbours to strengthen local planning, coordinate support during emergencies including extreme weather-related events, and aid recovery afterwards. Providing humanitarian support and comfort, for example welcoming and reassuring evacuees at airports.
Support our UK work: donate now
How the British Red Cross helps in the UK
Our local emergency response teams are ready to support people in crisis 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – and they help over 110,000 people impacted by disasters in the UK every year.
We provide practical support to people in moments of crisis and set them on the road to recovery by:
- Sending specialist response teams to provide immediate, short term shelter.
- Offering essentials such as bottled water, clothing and toiletries.
- Providing cash and vouchers so people have the dignity and choice to replace what they've lost.
We provide emotional support to people in the middle of a crisis, so they feel supported and safe, by:
- Knocking on doors in remote communities to share important information and support evacuations in the event of extreme weather.
- Making welfare calls to people who are more vulnerable during storms and power cuts.
- Providing humanitarian support and comfort, for example welcoming and reassuring evacuees at airports.
What can your donations fund?
- £5 could buy a clothing pack for an adult or a child
- £20 could pay for the essential items needed to care for a new born baby, for a parent who has lost everything during flooding
- £50 could fund a volunteer to get to and from five emergency incidents, helping them reach vulnerable people who have been impacted by fires, floods and other emergencies in the UK.
Donate to our UK crisis appeal
See the British Red Cross Emergency Response teams in action here.