In August, 2016, a rare weather event called a “monsoon depression” dumped more than 20 inches of rain on southwest Mississippi and coastal Louisiana. Do you remember? The storm led to massive flooding in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La. At least 13 people died, and 40,000 homes were damaged. A federal...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. More than 5 million refugees have fled the country since early February, according to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). Altogether, some 8 million Ukrainians have been displaced since fighting began. Most refugees have...
In the past five years, the United States has experienced record-breaking wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods—not to mention a global pandemic. Disasters, natural and man-made, are a fact of life. We expect them to happen. But anticipating a disaster is not the same thing as being prepared for one. Because of the...
Environmental sustainability and disaster recovery are intricately linked. Yet, more often than not, they are siloed from one another. But as severe weather events become more frequent and more destructive around the globe, experts are increasingly considering how the environment is affecting our response to natural and humanitarian disasters—and how sustainability...
The theme for this year’s Earth Day celebration, taking place on April 22nd, is “Invest in Our Planet.” Embedded within this call to action are a couple of powerful ideas. First is the notion that securing the future of “our planet” against the ravages of climate change is a collective responsibility...
Winter is here. For millions of American households living in or on the edge of poverty, it’s not exactly a season to celebrate. Instead, it’s a time of anxiety. The arrival of shorter, colder days means they will need to figure out how to keep their homes heated, how to keep...
MET PLUS Detroit, MI Website: http://metplus.org Lives Impacted: 8 MET Plus is a non-profit organization that works to empower the greater Michigan community with a multifaceted approach of innovative workforce development, philanthropy, community advocacy, health, and human services. They strive to improve the lives of job seekers with workforce education, entrepreneurial...
Box of Rain Water was founded on the belief that the greatest social impact anyone can make in the emergency/disaster space is in simply providing water. The organization focuses on delivering emergency water for survivors of disasters and first responders. Its trademark SafeWaterBox is a bag of safe drinking water inside...
America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan officially ended on Aug. 30, when a U.S. military C-17 carried the last American troops out of the country. But a whole new mobilization is already afoot to resettle more than 100,000 people, including many women and young children, that have been evacuated from Afghanistan since...
Every September, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) promotes National Disaster Preparedness Month through its Ready campaign. It’s an excellent opportunity to remind everyone that a disaster can occur anywhere, anytime, so being prepared for the worst is the best thing we can all do. But the human toll of disasters is...