zetsubonna:

The ARC wasted 500 million dollars in donations after the 2010 quake. Haitians have requested specifically that NO donations be made to the ARC for Hurricane Matthew relief.

Here are alternatives:

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Haitian-led orgs you can contribute to directly for relief efforts:

Konbit Mizik

Haiti Communitere

ACFFC

Sakala Haiti

SOIL

Fondation Aquin Solidarité

Volontariat pour le Développement d'Haïti (website is in French)

Lambi Fund

MADRE

Sowaseed

Konbit Solèy Leve

Non-Haitian Orgs with proven track records in Haiti:

Doctors without Borders

Roots of Development

Partners in Health

Border of Lights

Nova Hope for Haiti

staff:

spiral-path:

PSA for those on the Coast: BE SAFE, and BE SMART! 

This one is going to be a gnarly one.  It’s not expected to make landfall, but ride the coast all the way up. This means it probably won’t reduce in strength like most storms do.  Mother Nature is a terrifying force and sometimes we cannot stand against her. 

If you are in Evacuation Zones please heed warnings and the advice of Emergency Responders. If demanded to evacuate, please comply.  Things can be replaced, you can’t.

The National Guard has been mobilized, but not evacuating when you should puts their lives at risk as well as yours. 

To those outside the danger zones, but still in the path- Hunker down.  Make sure you have: 

• Dry Food
  
• Candles
  
• Flashlights
  
• Batteries
  
• window/door seals
  
• pull in all outside decor/furniture not cemented down (they’ll become projectiles). 
  
• Your Bathtub filled with water in case they shut off the city water
• FIrst Aid supplies, benedryl, epipen, bandages, antiseptic, etc
• Duct Tape (You never know what this stuff is good for)
• emergency radio
• An emergency plan should you get separated from family (keep in mind cell towers may be out)

For more information on how to get through this thing, take a look at FEMA’s website—it’s packed with resources, including tools through which you can help first responders get to those in need. Stay safe down there, Tumblr, and be sure to check in with your loved ones. 

If you’re looking for ways to help Haiti out, check out our earlier post, and also add Sow a Seed to that list. They focus on orphans in the Caribbean, and they’re currently directing their efforts to hurricane relief.  

<3 <3 <3 Tumblr

rjzimmerman:

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Story from Grist:

October hurricanes aren’t supposed to be this scary. Hurricane Matthew plowed across Haiti yesterday as one of the strongest storms ever recorded at this time of year — and the most powerful to strike that country in half a century. The United Nations is calling it the worst humanitarian crisis to hit Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. After swiping Cuba this morning, Matthew now threatens the southeastern United States, with potential landfall by this weekend.

Tropical storm season technically runs through November, but August and September — when ocean temperatures peak — are typically the major months of concern. By October, sea surface temps usually decline, reducing storm intensity. (Warm water = jet fuel for hurricanes.)

But CO2-heated oceans, combined with sea-level rise, could increase the danger of strong late-season storms. Recent studies suggest that tropical cyclones might become less frequent in a warmer world — but the ones we do get will be stronger and more damaging.

With surface temps currently at or above average for October, Matthew’s projected track is cause for alarm. The governors of Florida, Georgia, and both Carolinas have declared emergencies, with coastal evacuations — which could include millions of people — beginning today. Matthew might provide a very unwelcome October surprise.

I can’t avoid posting the recent radar image of Hurricane Matthew which is sloshing around the internet, because the image looks like a grotesque, frightening skull:

Keeping Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas in my thoughts today. As well as the people of Haiti and Cuba who have already been hit.