How Can You Help After a Natural Disaster?

Seeing footage after a hurricane or other natural disaster makes us want to help, but some actions are a better use of time and money than others. Learn how to make your aid go the furthest in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.
Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bogobam. Here. We humans have big hearts,
and when we see someone suffering, even if it's a
stranger on the other side of the globe, we want
to help. But in the rush to help others, we
can end up doing more harm than good. If you

(00:22):
really want to help the victims of devastating hurricanes, earthquakes, famines,
and floods, here are a few tips. First of all,
send money, not stuff. Charitable organizations receive so many boxes
of used clothing, shoes, canned food, and flashlights that it
overwhelms local staff and creates what some relief workers call

(00:43):
the disaster After the disaster, unsolicited donations clog up the
supply chain, take up space that could be used for
life saving supplies, and are often inappropriate to the local
needs and customs, like sending cans of spam to a
Muslim community, for example, not to to the expense of
transporting these goods, and that's why almost all disaster relief

(01:05):
charities ask for cash donations. With money, they can buy
exactly what victims need, often from local sources. Buying locally
or regionally keeps money in the storm rattled local economy
and cuts down on the logistics and costs of shipping.
In rare cases, a charitable organization will ask for specific
supplies to meet some urgent need. Local donations are always

(01:28):
the best option, but if you really want to ship supplies,
talk to the charity first. Make sure that you're sending
exactly what they need and that someone on staff is
prepared to receive it. Speaking of when you can give
to local organizations, national and international organizations have convenient ways
to donate, like via text and everything does help, but

(01:49):
they're not automatically the best equipped to help local populations.
In some cases, local groups with deep roots in the
affected community have a better understanding of how to meet
the immediate and long term needs of their people. The
trick is finding the right organization to support. You want
your money to make the biggest impact, and you certainly
don't want to get scammed. Organizations like Charity Navigator and

(02:13):
Charity Watch rate charitable organizations by their trustworthiness and transparency,
and if you can think long term to help keep
charities accountable. The investigative journalism organization Pro Publica encourages donors
to follow up with organizations and ask for detailed information
about how their money was spent and how many people

(02:34):
were helped. You can also write to your congressional representatives
and ask them to enact laws that require charities to
disclose their spending in greater detail. Also on the topic
of long term it's incredibly helpful to keep up the
support after the headlines have faded. According to a report
from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy or the c DP,

(02:56):
of disaster related donations from large ritable foundations, corporations, government agencies,
and online giving was spent on immediate disaster response and relief.
That's because the intense media coverage surrounding disasters like hurricanes
spurs people and foundations to give, But once the TV
cameras leave town, donations dry up. C DP President and

(03:20):
CEO Bob otten Hooff says that after about a week
of overwhelming generosity, very little private money is invested in
the longer term recovery of a storm battered region. I
think of the homes, businesses, transportation, and jobs lost. Otten
Hoff says a FEMA official from Texas told him the
disaster recovery works in multiples of ten for every day

(03:43):
of immediate relief, there are ten days required of mid
term rebuilding and a hundred days of long term recovery.
As so if it took ten days to provide immediate
relief to the victims of Hurricane Harvey, the long term
recovery for families, businesses, and Houston's infrastructure could go on
for many years. The CDP collects charitable donations immediately after

(04:05):
a disaster, but waits to invest the funds until it's
clear what needs aren't being met by other nonprofits, government agencies,
and insurance companies. That could be months after the initial disaster.
Responding to Typhoon Hayen in the Philippines, in the c
DP learned that sixty women were due to give birth
without functioning hospitals, so the organization invested all of its

(04:29):
money in maternal health services. Individuals can take the same
approach if you can give to help with the immediate crisis,
but then wait a few months and give again to
support organizations that are doing ongoing work and housing, mental
health counseling, employment assistance, and other long term services. Today's

(04:52):
episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler
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