Emergency

I’ll admit it. I’m not much of a hiker. If I had to choose, I would pick reading a book on the beach to hiking mountains any day. But I just came back from hiking through the mountains for seven hours in Honduras and even though my legs are sore, I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.

The cat in question, Sylvester, a black cat who lived in Dauphin’s Towers Hotel, came back from a near-death experience after he rode the front of the hotel’s second storey down to the ground as it collapsed following a recent fire. The fire left several residents without a home, including the cat.

It's been a busy summer here in Saskatchewan. Flooding at the end of June caused 154 communities to declare a state of emergency and forced many families from their homes. Here is an update on how Red Cross helped these families and continues to support the recovery of whole communities. 

As natural disasters increase in frequency and severity, so does the need for communities and individuals to be prepared. That's why Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from around the world have launched the Disaster Resilience Journal project, sharing photos and stories of communities preparing for disasters with resilience in a changing world.

As communications staff at the Canadian Red Cross, we often get the opportunity to meet some of the many amazing individuals who contribute to our humanitarian work worldwide.

By 2015, roughly 375 million people will be affected by climate-related disasters every year, 100 million more than were directly impacted last year.  And this does not count those affected by non-climate-related disasters such as earthquakes, conflicts and man-made disasters which are expected to affect many millions more.
These disasters often lead to separation of loved ones, leaving vulnerable people with no way to get in contact with those they have lost.

We've all seen or experienced disasters; there seems to be more and more of them every year. In those situations, I'm always wondering what I can do to help. Whether you are near the disaster or far from the actual damage, here are three ways you can make a difference:

Surmounting many challenges to achieve her dreams, Red Crosser Odette Cyr has spent the latter part of her life helping others in times of crisis.