PND - Year of Natural Disasters Tests World's Generosity, Patience

Posted on December 30, 2005

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Year of Natural Disasters Tests World's Generosity, Patience

PND Special Issue: 2005: Year in Review - Year of Natural Disasters Tests World's Generosity, Patience

Even as U.S. nonprofits and foundations continued to struggle to comply with post-9/11 counterterrorism measures designed to stem the flow of charitable funds to terrorist organizations overseas, a series of natural disasters shocked the global community in 2005 and put its generosity — and patience — to the test.

One year after an earthquake-triggered tsunami devastated coastal communities from the Indonesian archipelago to the Horn of Africa, killing more than 200,000 people and obliterating entire villages, the reconstruction of large portions of the affected region was stuck in first gear, leaving tens of thousands of people without homes or livelihoods. Though critical infrastructure such as road and ports lay in ruins, only a small portion of the more than $13 billion pledged by foreign governments, international aid agencies, and private donors had been spent to rebuild the devastated region. The slow pace of reconstruction dashed initial hopes that the massive international aid effort would be further along by year's end and cast a shadow over recovery efforts under way in New Orleans and along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which were devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September.

In the aftermath of Katrina — a fierce category 4 hurricane that leveled large stretches of the Gulf Coast, swamped the levee system in New Orleans, caused the flooding of 80 percent of the city, and was responsible for the deaths of more than a thousand people — charities and relief organizations by the dozen lined up to provide long-term aid and assistance to the storm's victims. And, as was the case in the weeks after the Indian Ocean tsunami so tragically altered the landscape of that part of the globe, corporations, foundations, and individuals responded to the devastation with an outpouring of support. Just two months after Katrina made landfall, private donations to hurricane relief (including donations for Rita and Wilma relief) had reached more than $2.7 billion, nearly matching the $2.8 billion contributed after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

Not surprisingly, the lion's share of those donations were collected by the American Red Cross ($1.8 billion, or nearly 67 percent of the total) and the Salvation Army ($295 million). Nevertheless, many people, particularly those in New Orleans and Mississippi's coastal flood plain, complained that the Red Cross had been insensitive or just plain AWOL in their worst hours of need. By December, the fallout from the relief organization's uneven performance in Katrina's wake had reached all the way to the top, as Marsha Evans, the organization's chief executive officer — and the fourth person to occupy that position in as many years — announced she would step down at year's end.

Any hint of turmoil at the Red Cross paled in comparison, however, to the bitter criticism leveled at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agency, which had prepositioned relief supplies throughout the region in anticipation of a major hurricane coming ashore, was caught off-guard by the subsequent flooding of New Orleans and reacted haltingly, leading to the resignation, after little more than a week, of Michael Brown, the agency's hapless director.

As if a massive tsunami and the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record weren't enough, nature delivered one more blow to the planet's battered psyche in October, when a huge earthquake rocked the Kashmir region of the Indian subcontinent, killing more than 73,000 people and leaving almost three million homeless.Over the next few weeks, donations to help survivors of the disaster reached $50 million, but as Himalayan winter descended on the region, the pace of giving slowed. "It's getting progressively worse," said Jennifer Norris, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Relief International, referring to the harsh conditions and increasing misery of the quake's survivors. "Snow has already begun to fall in many of the villages we're working in, and accessibility in these villages is getting more and more difficult."

Corporate Hurricane Relief Efforts Stymied by Overwhelmed Federal Response (11/14/05)

Red Cross Draws From $1 Billion Line of Credit for Katrina Relief (10/28/05)

Red Cross Hands Over Hurricane Housing to FEMA (10/27/05)

Hurricane Donations May Diminish Those for 9/11 Memorials (10/27/05)

Increase in Natural Disasters Worldwide Contributing to Donor 'Fatigue' (10/20/05)

Concerts Raise $9 Million for Hurricane Relief, Rebuilding Efforts (10/14/05)

Philanthropic Response to Kashmir Earthquake Begins to Take Shape (10/13/05)

Lawmakers Call for Transparency, Better Oversight of Katrina Aid (10/12/05)

Pace of Hurricane Relief Giving Slowing Despite Ongoing Need (10/11/05)

Governor Announces Board of Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (10/06/05)

FEMA Seeking Return of $30 Million Given to Floridians After 2004 Hurricanes (10/06/05)

Fraudulent Charities Focus of Crackdown (10/04/05)