By Rebecca Angel Baer, CNN April 19, 2013 -- Updated 1807 GMT (0207 HKT) An explosion ripped through a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, late Wednesday, injuring more than 160 people. Hundreds are injured in Texas fertilizer plant explosion The Red Cross is helping to locate loved ones and collect blood donations The Salvation Army is providing food and shelter as well as clothing for the stormy weather Several shelters have opened across the town of West,Texas (CNN) -- A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant Wednesday night left much of the small town of West, Texas, in ruins. Even as the nation mourned the victims of Monday's bombings in Boston, the new disaster left hundreds of people in West injured, homeless, and in need of help. "These are our neighbors, they are coming to help," Waco Police Department Sgt. William Patrick Swanton said Thursday. You will find that in Texas. You will find that across the United States. We put everything aside when it comes to these types of situations. Here's what you can do. Give blood With more than 160 people injured and others unaccounted for, the need for blood is great and will increase. Currently The Blood Center of Central Texas and Texas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster are asking primarily for O positive, O negative and type A blood. The Red Cross of Central Texas has a complete list of area locations currently taking blood donations. Shelter, food and clothing The Salvation Army quickly mobilized in Texas to provide food, drink and emotional and spiritual care to the survivors and first responders in West. It has set up several locations in and around the town. In addition to nourishment and counsel, the Salvation Army came prepared for the weather. The temperature dropped overnight with severe weather moving through the area. The group has 50 cases of rain suits, jackets and blankets to distribute. The best way to assist The Salvation Army's efforts is through financial donation, which you can do here. In addition, Texas Gov. Rick Perry's website has a list of shelters currently taking in victims as well as a list of local organizations taking donations of clothing and other helpful items. Connect with loved ones The Red Cross has activated its "Safe and Well" website locally in West, so if you are looking for a loved one you have not been able to reach, or if you are a victim and cannot reach your family to let them know you are OK, please use this website. In addition, the government has established a hotline for information on victims and survivors: 254-826-4115. There are also numbers for all of the local hospitals available on Perry's website. Make Donations Baylor University is fifteen minutes away from the town of West and consider all of its residents as their neighbors. University spokesperson Lori Fogleman said that thirteen students, forty-three faculty and staff and two hundred and sixty-two alumni call West home and so the university is pledging to support this town in its recovery. They've established the West Relief Fund and will collect donations for specific projects deemed necessary by city officials in West. "Absolutely 100% of the profits will go back into the city of West," Fogleman said. They will work together with city officials to determine what is needed and then students and faculty will lead groups in completing each project using the funds the university has raised. The Society of St. Vincent dePaul's is also collecting both monetary and material donations. They also plan to send disaster case management teams to meet with survivors throughout the recovery process. Texas fertilizer plant explosion Learn what you can do to help the people injured and affected by the explosion in Texas. April 19, 2013 -- Updated 0307 GMT (1107 HKT) As the sun rose, the small town's devastation came into fuller view: a gruesome, bloody scene, homes flattened to rubble, and scores of firefighters battling a raging blaze. April 18, 2013 -- Updated 1308 GMT (2108 HKT) Firefighters at the scene of a massive fertilizer plant explosion in Texas were concerned Wednesday night about anhydrous ammonia. April 19, 2013 -- Updated 1628 GMT (0028 HKT) Click through photos documenting the explosion and its aftermath in West, Texas. April 18, 2013 -- Updated 1257 GMT (2057 HKT) Dr. George Smith describes what he went through when a fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas. KCEN reports Watch video of the moment a burning West, Texas, fertilizer plant erupts in a massive explosion. April 18, 2013 -- Updated 1405 GMT (2205 HKT) CNN's Martin Savidge covers the latest details from a fertilizer plant explosion that rocked the town of West, Texas.