Description
Disaster Relief Donations & Volunteers: Who, What, When, and Why
Often times, the information disseminated related to disaster events is not always enough for people to know when to give and who to help. Organizations involved with key information and long-term recovery rely upon donations to help those with unmet disaster-related needs.
Immediate needs for food and shelter are addressed by the organizations that must maintain resources to meet this need. Once the survivors are faced with repairs and rebuilding, decisions after a few weeks raises the question of "Do they have enough money". This question cannot be answered until insurance companies and governmental agencies complete their assessments, which vary in length of time.
Charitable organizations that help fill the needs for repairs and rebuilding are primarily based on donations. From 1989-2011 the total damages from weather related disasters were $220 billion, or an average of $15.7 billion a year. The year 2011 was especially vicious, with a record-breaking 1,600 tornadoes causing more than $25 billion in damages, surpassing records for the most tornadoes in a single month and daily. Since 2012, the county is still on track for this costly weather related events. HurricaneSandywas estimated at over $50 billion in damages alone.
The agencies that are part of the long term recovery are always at the mercy of donations and volunteers.
They help with the under insured, uninsured, special needs population that include the elderly. In addition, people have lost their jobs due to long term damage and destruction of facilities as well as the psychological effects.
