Helping victims of natural disaster

A couple of days ago, I was immensely impressed by friend Hattie of Hattie's Web. Although she is engaged in a fierce battle with cancer, she empathized with the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Further, she was thoughtful enough to enquire about the best means of helping those victims. Kudos!

In several of our local media outlets (TV, newspaper, radio), this morning, appeared a well-written answer to Hattie's question. The news release, from Kansas Division of Emergency Management (KDEM), gave an answer that was so much better than mine. I must share it (below). Although it specifically addresses Hurricane Harvey, the advice holds for nearly any natural disaster. I've worked with the KDEM folks on several Kansas disasters. They do great work!

TOPEKA, Kan. (Release) The Kansas Division of Emergency Management is urging Kansans who wish to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey on the Gulf Coast, to donate money to a reputable volunteer, charitable or faith-based organization rather than sending food, clothing or other goods.

“Too often, well-meaning people send clothing, diapers, and other items to disaster stricken areas, but their donations end up unused or even discarded,” said Angee Morgan, deputy KDEM director. “The reason is that these goods must be sorted, packaged and stored until they can be distributed, which diverts manpower from other tasks and requires a place to warehouse the items. In some areas, there may not be any place available to do this. Also, there is often a surplus of one thing and not enough of another.”

Transporting and distributing the goods also requires manpower that can be better used in other capacities. Food must also be stored until used. If there is no refrigeration available, perishable foods may become unusable before they can be distributed. Even nonperishable goods can be a problem; one can only use so many cans of green beans.

Donating money allows human services agencies to purchase exactly what is needed when it is needed and does not waste resources. It also puts money back into the local economy, helping local businesses recover faster.

Comments

[Ole Phat Stu]

Chaotic Fake News:

Rumour has it that Kim Il Jung (that North Korean guy) has a new house-pet.
It is a butterfly.
And when Kim tickles its wing to make them flap, on the other side of the world (Texas)...

[Cop Car]

Hmmm...I never thought of that, Stu. Thanks for clarifying the origin of Hurricane Harvey.

[Ingineer66]

That is funny Stu. There was a guy on the radio this week talking about hurricane history. And he told about a hurricane in 1963 that stalled over eastern Cuba and dropped 104 inches of rain. Fidel Castro accused the US of manipulating the weather to try and destroy his island.

[Marianna]

I am wondering, now, if we will in fact be able to cope with present and future disasters, when they are so frequent and so expensive. We are avoiding the systemic revision of our relationship to the environment, which will happen, whether we want it our not. We don't want to make sacrifices that would call for consuming less or even, god forbid, basing our values on quality rather than quantity. And as long as that's the case, I don't think there is much hope.

[Cop Car]

Ingineer--There have been conspiracy theories going back to the dawn of genus homo, I'm guessing. That was the impetus for developing religions, don't you think? That said, I'm happy that you shared a theory that was new - to me!

Hattie--As long as we insist upon rebuilding in areas that lie in threatened zones, we'll get demolished by such storms. Of course, with the changing climate, historical data don't always prove adequate for planning purposes. I foresee someone getting rich modeling climate change for smart developers.

[joared]

Our news media here are also naming groups recommended to receive donations -- cash best, for the reasons you describe. They mention Red Cross, Salvation Army, several other groups, while cautioning people against con artists.

Given the documented climate warming, glaciers melting, oceans water levels rising, islands being absorbed by the seas, I would think common sense would suggest people might want to consider some changes are warranted. Now we have Irma threatening and a couple more hurricanes behind her.