Disaster Response (Page 43)

Two years after severe flooding damaged thousands of properties across southern Alberta, the repairs on Chuck Shifflett’s historic High River home are nearly complete. But, like many in the hardest hit regions, Shifflett and his neighbours are still recovering from the disaster. Down his street, four homes were eventually torn down, and just two were rebuilt so far.

The Canadian Red Cross continues to offer a range of programs and services to people affected by the floods in 2013. This includes Red Cross funding for Samaritan’s Purse, Habitat for Humanity, Mennonite Disaster Services and World Renew to help dozens of families in High River and the Calgary area as they rebuild or repair their homes.

It's funny how the body instinctively becomes attuned to aftershocks.  When I first arrived in Nepal, I wasn't sure what to expect and it was only after experiencing a few that I began to recognize the telltale signs of a tremor.  It could be external factors, like dogs barking crazily for no reason, or the birds suddenly going silent. Or it could be the sensation of a subtle rocking motion causing one to lock eyes with someone nearby to confirm that the ground is, in fact, moving.  

Large-scale disasters like the Nepal earthquake last week continue to remind us of the importance of being ready. Canada is not immune to disasters, as we saw with the Alberta floods and the Lac-Mégantic train derailment in 2013.

We mark Emergency Preparedness Week (May 3-9) here in Canada by encouraging everyone to be ready.

When Typhoon Maysak made landfall in the North Pacific island nation, Micronesia, approximately 30,000 people were affected in some way. 

Canadian Red Cross delegate Karen Leiva is currently on a mission in Micronesia with the International Federation of Red Cross to assess the damage caused by Typhoon Maysak. It’s considered a silent disaster, as it has gone mostly unnoticed outside of the region and occurred on the heels of another emergency in the Pacific, Cyclone Pam. The Red Cross responds to hundreds of these silent disasters every year. Karen shares some of the challenges of reaching remote communities.

The Philippine Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross are working together to train and prepare for disaster responses, specifically for the deployment and operation of the emergency field hospital.