Hurricane Relief and Humanitarian Aid

Our neighboring states have been hit hard by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton has just made landfall. We wanted to interrupt our regularly scheduled episodes to talk about how ordinary people can help in these emergency situations. 

Transcript

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Welcome friends, and thank you for joining us on Ordinary People with Hannah and Nayeli. I'm Hannah and I'm Nayeli. Hello friends. In the midst of a plan to release our first Sobremesa on homelessness, a category four hurricane named Helene Hit Cuba and move up through the states causing devastation along its path. Another powerful hurricane named Milton is about to hit landfall. Humanitarian aid is desperately need for those areas that were hit hardest by the storm. At least 200 deaths have been reported so far in the states alone. As we watch the suffering in our neighboring states of North Carolina and Tennessee, we feel it's important to dedicate this week to focusing on how anyone can help in this humanitarian crisis and similar crisis around the world. Hannah, I have been blessed to never experience firsthand the frightening situation of being trapped in the midst of a hurricane. But in October, 2023, hurricane Otis made a devastating landfall near Acapulco as a category five hurricane. This was the first specific hurricane to make landfall as a category five. Part of my family have lived in Acapulco for many decades and they have never experienced anything like that. So even they never got evacuations. Notice they were not expecting this kind of destruction near to them. They have, of course, they have experienced storms in the past, but never of this impact. Otis brought very powerful winds, have damaged several of the buildings in the city. They have many landslides and floating result from the heavy rain. Communications were heavily caught and initially the impact of the hurricane was largely unknown. It was hours before we knew what was happening there. In the aftermath, the city end up with not drinking water and most residents were without power for weeks. This imagine having hospitals without power, having people who needed medical equipment without power, no refrigeration. So there was no food, there was no access to water. It was a very dangerous situation. I don't know if anyone is familiar with Acapulco, but Acapulco has just one main road access. You have to go through the mountains to actually go down to the port where is the ocean? So the main road was completely destroyed and the airport suffering major damages, so the help couldn't reach them. That was. Yeah, this sounds really similar to what I'm hearing is going on in North Carolina and Tennessee because that's the Appalachian Mountains. So I heard someone on the news describe something very similar to what you're talking about, Nayeli is that it's not like a grid system in the suburbs where if one street is blocked, you can go down the next street. If one street is blocked or there's a landslide, it's very dangerous. You can only get there using helicopter or other means. Exactly. So even as a families, we were miles and miles away. So in the area where we were, there was no damages so we could help them. We thought if we coordinated, we get things together. If we send them money, we can help them. But the thing was, there was no way to send money because the banks were not open there. Their ATMs were not working, so they couldn't get that money. And even if they had money, there was nothing to buy there. There was no goods. And also we couldn't send anything because the main road was completely blocked. I'm very grateful for the work that the Mexican army and the Nongo environmental agencies did over there because they coordinated a mission rescue. That was the thing, flying helicopters there, flying people out to try to take them to hospitals, people who require medical attention, bringing in water, bringing in supplies, just to keep them alive a few more days until they could clear the road. But it took months, months to clear the road. And what makes me even more worry about the situation is this year, Acapulco and many other towns were struck again By the most recent hurricanes. And it makes me wonder if we are any better prepared to affront the humanitarian crisis that is been presented to us. I mean, I have a little bit of experience, not directly, but similar to you. I have family in Louisiana who in the Baton Rouge area, so not on the coastline, was flooded in 2016 and I'm several states away. And so we had kind of a similar experience as you is how do you help from several states away when there's a lot of conflicting messages online, on social media about the best way to help, but the situation on the ground can often be very different from what you might be reading is the best way to help. So we thought we'd spend today talking about what is really the best thing that ordinary people can do to help in situations like this. I wanted to take a look at the field of emergency management. It's been around for hundreds of years and it's constantly evolving because the disasters and emergencies that are happening are evolving as well. Some of these hurricanes that we're talking about, maybe start as just strong storms, can very quickly hit the warm waters of the Gulf or wherever and all of a sudden become very powerful category four, category five hurricanes, and they're hitting places which are not on the coast and not used to having the services for hurricane preparedness. So in a lot of these places, there was no way for them to be prepared for this because it's never happened before. What I learned was there are four main stages to emergency management, and this is what FEMA and lots of disaster preparedness organizations go by these four main stages. The first one is preparedness. So preparing in advance, it includes a lot of education to not just the community but the government agencies and non-government agencies that might help respond in a disaster. So just like having your disaster readiness kit, things like that. The second one is response to an emergency or a disaster. The third one is recovery, and the fourth is mitigation. So trying maybe to change infrastructure or things to mitigate the damage and especially preparing for the next one that might happen. So today we're going to focus on response and recovery because kind of where we are now with Helene and then Milton is coming and we don't know what that's going to look like yet. You'll hear many ways to help as we talk about those stages. Think about it, the response stage is like a sprint, Okay, this is during the storm or immediately after the storm saving lives. That's like basic necessities, getting people out of flooded homes, getting people away from areas that are very dangerous for them to be after the storm because of potential mudslides, as you mentioned, nayeli or downed power lines that maybe are still alive, maybe still have power, and there's danger of electrocution fires. So in the response phase, it's about search and rescue, getting people out, making sure they have clean water to drink bottled water, making sure they have food and they're in a safe place. That's where they'll take on life saving measures, making sure basic needs are met so people don't die evacuation and preventing the damage from spreading wherever possible. So as you move out of that response stage, you move into the recovery stage. So this is where there's more of a focus on housing. So now where are we going to house you while you're trying to rebuild? Some people who have their houses flooded, they may flood halfway up the house, so maybe through your kitchen countertop you can kind of take all that stuff out and a lot of people have nowhere else to go, so they will stay in the home, but it's dangerous. Mold grows very quickly in a lot of these warmer states that get hurricanes and mold can start growing within days, so it's not really safe for them to stay in their houses. So housing, health and social services, debris management, so cleaning up debris, economic recovery, rebuilding, resettling. So that's the recovery stage. So there's response. First is just lifesaving measures and recovery is all the stuff that comes after. And I think right now we are probably in the between of those stages in many states that were affected by Helena because some areas I think that have access, they have been floated with this hull, with this great people who is driving there is trying to help them that clean their yards, maybe cut some trees to clear some streets that were blocked. Now they have been open and some of them have moved to the second part of it, like start rebuilding or start calling these companies that will come and maybe dry your house and try to avoid the mold. But some other areas are still stuck in the rescue part of it. Some areas people are still being unaccessible. They haven't get to you, they haven't been, I would have to say evaluate what is their condition. So when we are talking about what just happening North Carolina, I think watching the images was devastating because aftermath of how many people have lost their life and there is still in the recovery of the remains of these people. It's been a really sad situation to watch and you might hear us talk a lot about North Carolina and Tennessee and Appalachian Mountains, but we know there was a lot of communities hit, like we mentioned earlier, all the way from Cuba up to North Carolina and Tennessee. But those are the states closest to us. So we tend to see that more on the news locally, but know that we are really talking about everybody impacted by this hurricane. So I wanted to talk a little bit about what I learned about who is on the ground responding and what their roles are, which I think helps us figure out where do I want to plug in or where's the best way for me to plug in. So there's a common misconception that FEMA comes in after a natural disaster and they take over and they are controlling what goes on. But in actuality, it is up to the states to be in charge of the emergency management and disaster recovery, search and rescue, all of that is going to be up to the state and local government. So every single state has their own emergency management department. FEMA comes in when there's a presidential disaster declaration, and what they do is think of them more as a coordinator. Now they do have search and rescue division and they have a lot of resources and access to lots of partnerships and everything, but think of FEMA more as a coordinator, assisting the state governors and state and local agencies in their response and getting federal assistance. So they do a lot of assisting with paperwork to file requests for federal funding. They have people that go door to door or in this situation to the shelters and help people sign up for emergency FEMA money and then they follow people affected by the storm and help you apply for more money later on. If you potentially will need a FEMA trailer because your house is devastated, but you want to stay close to your property to rebuild, they'll help you apply for the FEMA trailers. If it Everyone is different. None of them hit exactly the same way or need the exact same requirements. But I would hope and imagine this situation seems so bad that FEMA trailers will come for those people who have lost their homes. Think of FEMA more as a coordinator. Federal assistance. They're not the National Guard, so they're not coming in with army trucks. Naly, you mentioned that the Mexican army came in. Yes, that was the way they used their helicopters and their small planes to land, and they were the ones there doing the job like cutting the debris, cutting the trees. They were actively active in the rescue. So they're similar to here. There will be a lot of other agencies like the National Guard, local military branches, anyone that can work together with the state governors and FEMA to get deployed into the area. It's really a collaboration. FEMA's not doing all of it. So we have seen the National Guard and military from Fort Liberty respond in North Carolina. Lot of coordination that has to happen to help in these disasters. I wanted to move on and really start to talk about how can we help. So just thinking through the natural disasters and that response stage is going to be a sprint. It's a sprint to save lives and to prevent more lives from being lost, but then there's going to be a marathon of recovery that happens after that. So there is so much need there. It's not just in the first week or two. And so I wanted to talk about how maybe we could help in each stage and proximity is very important. Here. We went to the Peace Builders Conference and we talked about proximate peace builders. So your proximity to the disaster really affects how you can help and the best way to help. So if you are in the affected area of the disaster, the best way that you can help is keeping an eye on some of your more vulnerable neighbors that you're aware of. Maybe Mr. Johnson down the street lives alone, he has an oxygen tank that requires power. So just making sure that when you interact with local emergency personnel, you're notifying them, Hey, have you seen Mr. Johnson? He has an oxygen tank. He needs power. When you are in the affected area, it's very difficult because you're impacted too. In your community probably you know better. You know your neighbors, you know what is required, and yes, I know people who's there is all that impacted, but I think the level of impact might be different. Some of them may still have power if they have power plants or they have solar panels and they can maybe provide that to their neighbors until all the power can be restored for everyone. Maybe if you have a good amount of food that can be shared with others without affecting your family, that's really maybe a good time if you have access to that, if you have clean water and you can share with others, I think that's a very effective way. I think everybody was impacted different because everybody was prepared different and also the needs that you say maybe couldn't go out to the stores, they didn't have a car or didn't have the money or they didn't know or by the time they knew it was too late. And in this situation when we are in that emergency response phase where it's possible that phones are not working and so maybe I'm just using a Mr. Johnson as an example, maybe Mr. Johnson's family cannot call and check on him or tell emergency personnel and that message cannot get up the chain to where it needs to go. So when you're in the closest proximity of that disaster, there's a lot that you can do to help ensure just those simple things get communicated so that more lives can be saved. As we get a little bit further out from immediate disaster, let's say you live within driving distance, whether that be an hour away or let's say you live in Pennsylvania and you are motivated to get a truck of supplies and you want to bring it to North Carolina and we love you for it. There are a few things that you need to know. Do not just deploy yourself, take charge with no experience at all, no connection to the community. They describe it sort of like you know how there's a fire lane in front of every school or every building here in the us. Do you guys have fire lanes in. Mexico? No, we don't. Okay, so the purpose of those fire lanes is if there's a fire, they don't want everybody rushing into the front of the building and they want to make space for emergency personnel to get in because if everyone rushes in, it can actually be more chaotic and more dangerous and there's less control over the situation. So this does not mean they don't want your help. It just means if you are motivated to help make sure that you connect with a local agency that's on the ground that is coordinating with state and local officials. Because what happens sometimes is you have volunteers self deploy into an area that they know nothing about and they haven't been briefed on the ongoing disaster and they may get themselves into a dangerous situation where there may be potential mudslides coming in that area or it may not be safe. And then you're putting your own life at risk and taking resources away from the disaster response and maybe making it more difficult. Also, if you are making the effort that I feel that is amazing that you have that willpower in you to go and help to go there. You want your work to be meaningful. So maybe if you are connected with a local organization, you know what they need. Many times we say like, oh, I'm going to send this, but is that what the people there need? Sometimes you think that we don't think about like trash bags or they need maybe paint or they need, I think we don't think when we are putting together things for donation, we always think water, food, but sometimes when it reach the point where it's needed, they don't have a suitable place to storage the food they don't have. So it's very important that if we are donating things, if people is driving there, they're packing their trucks and going there, they're bringing things that are really what is needed. It matters because otherwise the coordination of that donations becomes a work in itself. Exactly. And again, we love you for bringing stuff. Don't let that discourage you from bringing stuff. They're just asking make sure you talk with an organization that is already there on the ground and they can tell you, yes, we need this right now, but maybe hold that other stuff in your truck for a couple weeks and we'll need that in a couple weeks. Another note is the further away you are from a disaster, let's say you're across the country, but you feel a strong desire to help your monetary donations will go further because these organizations on the ground can buy in bulk. They are tax exempt. So having you buy and ship stuff from California to North Carolina is not going to be the best use of the money anyway. Just donate to a local organization. We'll post a list on our socials and reputable organizations out there that you can look up on Charity Navigator and other websites like that to make sure that your dollars are going to the best place and we're maximizing the use of those dollars. Yeah, absolutely. We will be posting this week, we will be highlighting some of the O Gs that we know they are working there, that they are doing the best effort. And if you know any other employees, send there our way and we will try to highlight them in our socials. Exactly. So a couple other notes, if you know anyone in these affected areas work directly with them. If they're on the ground, they can tell you what's needed. They can tell you the agencies and the trucks that they see on the ground, which is very helpful. When my grandparents flooded in 2016, I called and I was offering all types of help and my mom was there on the ground and she said, I can't even think about all of that right now. This is what I need. And these are the organizations that are here right now, donate to them because they're getting the supplies to us quickly and they're running out quickly. And that was incredibly helpful. So if you know anybody in any of these affected areas, check in with them. I did read something on the emergency management website that said text don't call because calls get flooded in sometimes and they clog up the lines and then people cannot reach the services that they need when they're on the ground in the disaster zone. So text, whatever digital communication you use is typically better in a disaster. But just say, what can I do to help you? What organizations are on the ground? What do you need right now? Until FEMA trailers got delivered, we had family members who didn't have a place to stay, didn't want to stay in shelters for too long. So we got a camper and had a truck driver deliver the camper to them until the FEMA trailer could get delivered. I think we just went over a lot of ways that you can help in the first couple of weeks while we're in that response life saving stage. But as we move on to the recovery stage, and some of this happens during the response, some of it gets set up during the response stage as well, and the disaster zone pods are set up which actually mean points of distribution. So you'll see on the news like warehouses where all the supplies are getting stored, churches, schools are going to be turned into pods. Sometimes it's just a tents set up in a parking lot and supplies stacked up in a parking lot. So a lot of the supplies that you end up donating to these organizations that are on the ground are going to go to one of these pods. And typically they will let people in the community know, Hey,

every Tuesday at 5: 23:56

00 PM you can come and get a new toothbrush and shower supplies and FEMA will be there to help you register for federal support and every day at noon you can come and get free meals for the next 24 hours. And so these pods are going to be set up. That's where all the donated supplies are going to go. Those pods are specifically picked out because they're a safe location for volunteers and residents impacted by the area to get in and out safely to get the supplies that they need. It's usually set up during the response stage, but they will stick around through recovery and then coordinated and delivered there. So if you're a senior in your golden years and you need help removing the debris, you might find assistance there, then the recovery phase is long and people will still need your support long after this, the news has stopped covering it and they've moved on to something else. Rebuilding is a very, very long process, especially for these people who have no flood insurance. A lot of them are going to be rebuilding on their own, so they will need pretty much anything that you can think of in terms of supplies and money, support, new appliances. One thing that's very interesting is my grandma lost a lot of her family pictures. Thankfully she had several of them in plastic totes high up, but there were some that were in around the house pictures of her parents and her old black and white photos that just a lot of them got destroyed with water. Think about everything that someone loses in a situation like that. We were lucky enough to find someone who could restore some of those photos, not all of them, but a professional photographer who was dedicated to restoring photos that had been damaged. And so there are so many ways that you can help just think through what you can personally do, what your skills are and what everything that someone loses in a disaster like this and how you could help. And even. If you have no money to give, because many times that's in the position we are at some point in our lives. I will love to help. I love to send donations. I would love to send money, but I'm not in that position. But there is always something you can do. You can as Hannah say, reach out. If you know people in the area, reach out, make them know that you're thinking of them, that you are aware of their situation. And sometimes that helps because they feel forgotten. They feel that nobody is paying attention. But if you have someone there, please reach out to them. And if you don't know anyone there even we can use the power of social media. You can go to your social media and look for organizations that are doing the job and just forward their posts so they can reach to someone else and maybe they have the means to help. There are many things that doesn't imply to put money on. Yeah, exactly. And I'm actually in that situation, naali, I've hit my donation limit for the year, have been feeling a little guilty that I can't send money. North Carolina and Tennessee, which are closest to us and have contact with someone in South Carolina, her community has been devastated by the storm. What I've been learning is that there are national organizations like the Red Cross and other organizations that are going to be deploying trucks from other states and into those disaster zones. So what you can do is sign up to volunteer locally, help pack trucks. You can volunteer your time to just help pack boxes and buckets of supplies that are going to be delivered. You can donate blood. There are things that we can do locally if we don't have the money to donate. So I would encourage you to look it up in your area if you're feeling driven and you're like, man, I really want to help, but I can't donate money right now and I am far away. I believe there is some organization out there that will try to find some and put links in our socials, but you're not alone in feeling that way. But times hands are needed. Yes, definitely always. I mean, these storms were devastating. We are still expecting the aftermath of Milton. As we are recording this episode, also, we can start working on getting ready. On the first part you say like being prepared because this is going to be recurrent. We know this happens all the time and many times we live in areas that we feel like this never happened here. This has never happened here. We're. Safe. We don't. Need to prepare for a hurricane. Exactly. But maybe later in our season, we might include an episode on how we can prepare for this. Because that's also part for being a humanitarian because the more prepared you are, the better you can serve your community. Yeah, exactly. Yes, friends. So I think that will be it for this episode. We are here to try to help. We are also trying to spread awareness and also trying to spread kindness. So we are also here to really recognize all the work that everybody's doing out there. We have seen the pictures, we have seen the people out there helping neighbors, helping their community, and it's very moving. We are really moved by it, and that's why we decided to make a stop in our season and do this. Please keep up with our socials. We will put in there a list of organizations you can donate to or you can volunteer to, and hopefully we will recover from this and we will be more prepared as humans to help each other in the next. We appreciate you all so much and we appreciate your time and so thankful that you join us and we're very excited about just building a community where we can do this together. Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcasting app so you are notified when new episodes drop. You can support our podcast by subscribing on Patreon at patreon.com/ordinary people with Hannah and nai. You can also find us on Instagram at Be the Change Hub and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn. All the links to our socials will be in the show notes. Thank you for listening today and being part of this community of change makers.