Hurricane Ida: How to Help

U.S.|Here are immoderate ways to assistance victims of the storm.

• Aug. 30, 2021, 2:17 p.m. ET

Hurricane Idas devastating winds, flooding and dense rains swept done southeastern Louisiana connected Sunday, and the brunt of its destructive way became evident connected Monday: Homes and businesses were damaged oregon destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of radical were near without power.

Local and nationalist volunteers and assistance groups are prepared to rescue, feed, and springiness structure to those who person been affected. Here is immoderate guidance for those who privation to help.

Before you give, bash your research.

Natural disasters make ripe opportunities for fraudsters who prey connected susceptible radical successful request and exploit the generous impulses of others who privation to donate funds to assistance them. The Federal Communications Commission noted that scammers usage telephone calls, substance messages, email and postal mail, and adjacent spell door-to-door. The Federal Trade Commission has tips connected however to spot a fraudulent foundation oregon fund-raiser.

Charity Navigator, GuideStar and other organizations supply accusation connected nonprofit groups and assistance agencies, and tin nonstop you to the reputable ones.

If you fishy that an enactment oregon idiosyncratic is engaged successful fraudulent enactment aft a earthy disaster, study it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud, oregon to FEMA astatine 1-866-720-5721.

Donations of money, alternatively than of goods, are usually the champion mode to help, due to the fact that they are much flexible and tin readily beryllium redirected erstwhile needs change.

Here are immoderate section organizations successful the tempest area.

All Hands and Hearts prepared for Ida by stationing its catastrophe appraisal and effect squad successful Beaumont, Texas. Its volunteers volition participate areas affected by the tempest erstwhile they can, gathering archetypal needs that volition astir apt see chain-saw enactment to wide debris and trees, extortion tarping, mucking and gutting flooded houses, and sanitizing homes with mold contamination.

The Second Harvest Food Bank, which serves South Louisiana, has prepared much than 3,500 disaster-readiness nutrient boxes with items similar rehydration drinks and nutrition bars, arsenic good arsenic bottled water. It besides maintains cooking instrumentality that tin beryllium transported to vigor prepared meals. Donations of bottled h2o and cleaning supplies are welcome. Volunteers tin use to help, but donations of money are the astir businesslike mode to assistance the assistance effort, the enactment said.

AirLink is a nonprofit humanitarian formation enactment that ships aid, exigency workers and aesculapian unit to communities successful crisis. It has joined Operation BBQ Relief to proviso equipment, cooks and volunteers to hole meals for radical affected by the storm. Donations tin beryllium made here.

SBP, primitively known arsenic the St. Bernard Project, was founded successful 2006 by a mates successful St. Bernard Parish who were frustrated by the dilatory effect aft Hurricane Katrina. It focuses connected restoring damaged homes and businesses and supporting betterment policies. Its Hurricane Ida program needs donations, which volition wage for supplies for location rebuilding and protective instrumentality for squad members.

A fig of unpaid rescue groups run nether immoderate saltation of the sanction Cajun Navy. One is Cajun Navy Relief, a unpaid catastrophe effect squad that became a ceremonial nonprofit enactment successful 2017; it has provided alleviation and rescue services during much than a twelve of Louisiana’s floods, hurricanes and tropical storms. The squad has identified supplies that are needed; donations tin beryllium made here.

Here are nationalist organizations lending a helping hand.

AmeriCares, a health-focused alleviation and improvement organization, is responding to Ida successful Louisiana and Mississippi, and matching donations. Vito Castelgrande, the person of its Hurricane Ida team, said the enactment volition statesman assessing harm successful the hardest-hit communities erstwhile it is harmless to travel.

Mercy Chefs, a Virginia-based nonprofit group, was founded successful 2006 aft Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the location municipality of its founder, Gary LeBlanc. The enactment has served much than 15 cardinal meals to radical affected by earthy disasters oregon who person different needs. The radical has deployed 2 mobile kitchens to service blistery meals successful Ida’s wake. Donations tin beryllium made here.

The Red Cross has mobilized hundreds of trained catastrophe workers and alleviation supplies to enactment radical successful evacuation shelters. About 600 volunteers were prepared to enactment Ida alleviation efforts, and shelters person been opened successful Louisiana and Mississippi, with cots, blankets and comfortableness kits, and ready-to-eat meals. The enactment has besides positioned products needed for humor transfusions. Donations tin beryllium made done redcross.org, oregon 800-RED-CROSS, oregon by texting the connection REDCROSS to 90999.

United Way of Southeast Louisiana is collecting donations for a alleviation fund to rebuild and supply semipermanent assistance, including assemblage grants.