Giving Compass' Take:
- Patricia McIlreavy discusses the importance of supporting long-term hurricane recovery to improve future climate resilience in the communities impacted.
- As a donor, how can you go beyond supporting immediate relief and ensure that you are also equipping communities with what they need for long-term recovery and resilience?
- Learn more about disaster relief and recovery and how you can help.
- Search our Guide to Good for nonprofits focused on disaster philanthropy.
What is Giving Compass?
We connect donors to learning resources and ways to support community-led solutions. Learn more about us.
Through Hurricanes Helene and Milton, we are yet again witnessing the devastation and loss caused by the increased frequency and severity of natural hazards. Helene now bears the inauspicious title of the deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina, and communities across Florida had to quickly pivot from Helene relief and cleanup to Milton preparation, then restart and expand relief and cleanup. Federal, state and county governments and nonprofit organizations are mobilizing relief efforts across the region, but the layering of disasters between and before Helene and Milton will result in needs that go beyond the capacity of governments or relief organizations, underscoring the need for long-term hurricane recovery.
This is an all-hands-on-deck crisis that requires immediate attention to safety and support for survivors and communities. The road to full and equitable long-term hurricane recovery is long, and as we begin to rebuild, we must address reality: There will be yet another storm, and another, and another. Rebuilding as it was is not just insufficient, it is inequitable and ineffective.
While the increase in frequency, severity and reach of natural hazards such as storms and flooding can be rightfully blamed on climate change, the vulnerability of affected communities often stems from systemic barriers and structural inequities. Marginalization is exacerbated by the deterioration or lack of stable infrastructure, inadequate disaster insurance or the scarcity of resources to move out of a storm’s path. Homes, roads and community spaces in the path of Helene have been destroyed, showing the need for funding for long-term hurricane recovery and resilience. For communities facing poverty, long-term hurricane recovery is more difficult because houses are less likely to be rebuilt to withstand hurricane-force winds. Due to discriminatory housing laws such as redlining, many communities of color live in pre-existing high-flood-risk zones. People living with disabilities face barriers to recovery due to emergency and disaster plans that do not adequately consider needs and accessibility. Even members of so-called “climate haven” communities, such as Asheville, North Carolina, are facing unexpected long-term hurricane recovery needs, with many not having flood insurance and typical homeowners insurance exempting damage caused by flooding.
Read the full article about long-term hurricane recovery by Patricia McIlreavy at Center for Disaster Philanthropy.