Disaster Response (Page 44)

When Canadian Red Cross delegate Nicolas Verdy arrived in Vanuatu shortly after Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam, a category 5 storm, made landfall, he was amazed at the amount of destruction to buildings and vegetation but also at the resiliency of the people.

Thousands of people have been affected after Cyclone Pam, a category 5 storm, made landfall in Port Vila, Vanuatu, on Friday, March 13. This was the strongest tropical storm to make landfall since Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in November 2013. 

The Canadian Red Cross responds to thousands of calls for help every year and most of the people who respond are volunteers, some of whom are newcomers to Canada. These trained volunteers are ready and willing to assist people affected by a disaster whether it's in the middle of the night or as a result of a weather-related emergency.

Winter can bring freezing rain, sleet storms, snow blizzards and extreme cold temperatures. These weather conditions can affect your home by damaging power lines and equipment, often resulting in power outages.

I’ll admit it. I’m not much of a hiker. If I had to choose, I would pick reading a book on the beach to hiking mountains any day. But I just came back from hiking through the mountains for seven hours in Honduras and even though my legs are sore, I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.

From Nicaragua to Newfoundland and on to Alberta, Aliusha Benoit follows her heart when communities need help, particularly after a disaster.

It isn’t always the easiest path to travel, but since Aly first joined the Red Cross as a disaster relief volunteer in Nicaragua more than 20 years ago, she wouldn’t live any other way.

 

As Typhoon Hagupit swept across the Philippines this week with millions of people bracing themselves for the storm’s onslaught, Jiferson Cueto was among the hundreds of specially trained Philippine Red Cross volunteers stationed in areas yet to be hit by Hagupit.