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Though the worst may be over, don’t forget that a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea turned into what is now notoriously known as Hurricane Sandy on October 24th, destroying New York, affecting nearly 23 other states, and severely damaging Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic! Over 50 people were left dead in Sandy’s wake and 200,000 homeless in Haiti and 70% of residents of Jamaica were left without electricity.
Picture above: A Haitian woman smiling despite a truck underwater.
Sandy’s been causing quite the stir when it comes to talks of climate change, oceans becoming warmer, storms becoming more intense, and coastal effects being worse than ever due to rising sea levels. Some meteorologists have challenged this, denying the now common notion that temperatures have been gradually increasing.
President Obama has said: “We can’t attribute any particular weather event to climate change. What we do know is the temperature around the globe is increasing faster than was predicted even 10 years ago. We do know that the Arctic ice cap is melting faster than was predicted even five years ago. We do know that there have been extraordinarily — there have been an extraordinarily large number of severe weather events here in North America, but also around the globe. […] And I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior and carbon emissions. And as a consequence, I think we’ve got an obligation to future generations to do something about it.”
Picture above: The United Nations Humanitarian Office fears for Haiti’s food supply.
Bill Nye has said: “This is just the beginning, I’m not saying there’s going to be a Sandy every weekend or every year, but every decade we can expect more and stronger storms.”
Relief efforts have been strong and there are TONS of things you can do to help that don’t all require writing a check. Know anyone who lives in New York City? Airbnb, a vacation rental service, has teamed up with the city to help New Yorkers find places to temporarily stay.
Picture above: Help spread the word!
Other things you can do to help!
♡ Text REDCROSS to 90999 and automatically donate $10 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief
♡ News platform Patch Media will donate $1 to AmeriCares Sandy Relief Efforts for any tweet that includes #patchrebuilds
♡ Like Bio Plas Inc. on Facebook and the company will donate $20 to Hurricane Sandy Relief
♡ Following the destruction of Sandy, The Humane Society has saved several hundred animals and now has near 450 pets in emergency shelters!
“Please donate to our Disaster Relief Fund today. Your help ensures that our team can
continue to answer the call during times of disaster wherever and whenever animals
need us. Your gift will be used exclusively for our relief work to help animals during this
and other disasters. Thank you.” – humanesociety.org
♡ The Salvation Army is aiding those in crisis with hot meals, water, and shelter. To send a $10 donation via text message, you can text the word STORM to 80888, and confirm the donation with the word, “Yes.” They are also accepting used clothing and furniture donations to local Salvation Army locations. (NBC News).
♡ The Food Bank For New York City is distributing emergency food and supplies. To donate, text FBNYC to 50555 or make a monetary contribution online. (Gothamist).
♡ Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge flooded the Jacob Riis Childcare Center leaving all furniture, child care supplies, educational materials, and toys unusable. They must now entirely rebuild their center in order to continue to serve the low-income children and families of the Lower East Side. Any donation, no matter how small, will greatly help.
Send toys or books to CPC Jacob Riis Childcare Center at 108 Avenue D NY, NY 10009
or visit bit.ly/amazoncpc to directly donate supplies online!
Pictures above: Some crazy Sandy moments captured by Chris Ozer!