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The Manitoba Disaster Management trailer recently rolled out of the Red Cross Winnipeg office, heading east to Ontario, ready for a dramatic makeover.

This year’s World Disasters Report, released by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), takes on a challenging theme of looking at how culture affects disaster risk reduction, and how disasters and risk influence culture.

The cat in question, Sylvester, a black cat who lived in Dauphin’s Towers Hotel, came back from a near-death experience after he rode the front of the hotel’s second storey down to the ground as it collapsed following a recent fire. The fire left several residents without a home, including the cat.

This week, Janice Babineau and delegates from across the country are participating in an Emergency Response Unit (ERU) training exercise in Victoria, BC. Follow the action on Twitter and Instagram with #CRCeru.

As natural disasters increase in frequency and severity, so does the need for communities and individuals to be prepared. That's why Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from around the world have launched the Disaster Resilience Journal project, sharing photos and stories of communities preparing for disasters with resilience in a changing world.

We've all seen or experienced disasters; there seems to be more and more of them every year. In those situations, I'm always wondering what I can do to help. Whether you are near the disaster or far from the actual damage, here are three ways you can make a difference:

Surmounting many challenges to achieve her dreams, Red Crosser Odette Cyr has spent the latter part of her life helping others in times of crisis.

While working abroad with the Guyana government, Heather Fehr came across the work of the Guyana Red Cross as she was working on community development projects with the isolated Amerindian populations in the Amazon rainforest.