Displaced Hurricane Helene victims can get temporary housing hosted by Airbnb

Hurricane Helene — which ran a 600-mile long path of destruction through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas — has decimated communities and forced large portions of the American southeast out of their homes. With search and rescue efforts still underway, other organizations, like Airbnb are stepping in to assist the displaced. Area residents can now apply for housing hosted by Airbnb.org, the company's nonprofit arm behind its humanitarian and disaster relief efforts. Temporary free or discounted stays are coordinated through local nonprofit and relief partners, not the Airbnb site, which identify and coordinate residents who require assistance. Hundreds of residents have already been placed in accommodations, the organization says. There's certainly need, even with the federal government's response. "In the Carolinas, entire communities are submerged by floodwaters and cut off from aid with people waiting to be rescued with no access to food, power or fuel. In Georgia and Tennessee, damage from downed trees and flooding have left neighborhoods unrecognizable. In Florida, cars are buried in sand and homes have been gutted by the massive storm surge," according to the Red Cross. SEE ALSO: How do we navigate climate disinformation online? With entire towns destroyed, more than 130 people dead, and hundreds of individuals still missing, many residents have been forced to relocate with short warning, and most are depending on emergency relief. Transportation is increasingly dangerous: Emergency responders have warned North Carolina residents, which experienced a century-record amount of deadly flooding, to avoid traveling. Thousands of people are currently being housed in shelters. Local disaster relief organizations state their most pressing needs remain food, water, and generators, as hundreds of thousands remain without power. How to get housing through Airbnb Displaced residents of Florida and North Carolina should reach out to nonprofit partners directl