As Hurricane Matthew continued its path of destruction up the southeast coast, the American Red Cross expanded its massive sheltering effort to span five states. More than 13,400 people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia woke up Sunday morning in 248 Red Cross and community evacuation shelters.

"Matthew isn't done with us yet. In North Carolina, the storm is causing deadly flooding and we have safe shelters open where conditions permit," said Brad Kieserman, vice president, Disaster Operations and Logistics for the Red Cross. "Our first priority is keeping people safe. We anticipate flooding may continue for days in the Carolinas and we are working with the entire response community to make everyone safely gets the help they need."

HUNDREDS OF BLOOD, PLATELET DONATIONS GO UNCOLLECTED

As flooding from Hurricane Matthew inundates the Carolinas, the storm continues to impact the nation's blood supply. So far, Hurricane Matthew has forced the cancellation of approximately 40 Red Cross blood drives in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia resulting in more than 1,500 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected. More cancellations are likely along the Southeast coast of the U.S. as floodwaters ravage many areas.

The need for platelets is especially critical due to the loss of these donations in affected areas. Platelets, a key clotting component of blood often needed by cancer patients, must be transfused within five days of donation and, therefore, are always in demand.

In parts of the country unaffected by the storm, the Red Cross needs eligible individuals to please give blood or platelets now to help ensure we have a readily available blood supply for patients in need. Even before the threat of Hurricane Matthew, there was an urgent need for donors of all blood types, especially type O. Appointments can be made by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).