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AmeriCares is Prepared for Destructive Hurricane Season

 
 TAGS:   Caribbean, Latin America, United States , ,
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Children line up as they wait to leave the Honduran island Roatan as Hurricane Felix approaches September 3, 2007. The highly dangerous Category 4 storm, due to make landfall on Tuesday morning, charged toward Nicaragua and Honduras with top sustained winds of 135 mph (215 kph), provoking fears of a repeat of Hurricane Mitch, which killed some 10,000 people in Central America in 1998.

 Photo:  REUTERS/EDGARD GARRIDO
Leaving Honduran Island Roatan as Hurricane Felix Approaches

AmeriCares airlifted emergency medicines and supplies to Nicaragua and Honduras in response to the destruction left by Hurricane Felix. After that storm ripped through the Caribbean, AmeriCares reached out to our trusted partners on the ground in both countries to offer assistance. With this airlift we delivered antibiotics, pain relievers, hygiene products, dermatological remedies and other medicines and supplies that address emergency needs. "An official from the Ministry of Health told us we either read their minds or were doing our job very well," said Hector Emmanuelli, an AmeriCares relief worker who met the plane and helped distribute the aid. "He said we sent exactly what they needed."

When Hurricane Dean slammed into the Caribbean in August, AmeriCares contacted our partners in Mexico and Jamaica and in response to their needs, we are delivering hygiene kits and blankets to the people affected by that storm in Jamaica.

We have been providing aid to people devastated by natural disasters such as hurricanes for 25 years and have developed the expertise required to deliver emergency supplies and critical medicines to areas destroyed by these violent storms.

 AmeriCares relief worker Philip Tu loads in a shipment to Honduras and Nicaragua.

 Relief worker Philip Tu loads in a shipment of medical supplies to Honduras and Nicaragua from Americares warehouse in Connecticut.
PHOTO: Danielle Fiori

Immediately after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, AmeriCares delivered in-kind aid such as medicines, hospital supplies and other materials valued at more than $10 million to Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama. Recognizing the ongoing needs of this devastated region, we have continued to work with local partners to support primary health care and mental health needs, and help communities deal with other pressing recovery issues such as shelter and disaster preparedness as another hurricane season is now upon us.
Click here to view Hurricane Katrina photos

Local people wait before they are evacuated by Mexican soldiers in the village of Chum Pon in Mexico's state of Quintana Roo, as Hurricane Dean approaches, August 20, 2007.
PHOTO: REUTERS/ Henry Romero

When a disaster like a hurricane strikes, it is critical to respond with aid immediately to attend to health concerns and save lives. AmeriCares responds to such disasters both here in the United States and in other countries.

In 2005, AmeriCares rushed to provide support when Hurricane Stan ripped through Guatemala, causing a massive mudslide that buried the entire village of Panabaj, in the mountains of Guatemala.

Please help us be prepared to respond immediately when the next hurricanes strike.

With your gift, we will be able to deliver aid even more quickly to people devastated by disaster and as a result, you will help save lives.

Hurricanes AmeriCares has responded to in recent years with medicines, medical supplies and aid:


Hurricane Rita (USA 2005)
Hurricane Katrina (USA 2005)
Hurricane Stan (Central America 2005)
Hurricane Charley (USA 2004) 
Hurricane Ivan (Caribbean 2004)
Tropical Storm Jeanne (Haiti 2004)