As of this writing the southern east coast is bracing to take the brunt of Hurricane Florence. After a natural disaster strikes, it is our natural inclination to want to help. But what are the best ways to actually help?
Here are several ways to help in the wake of floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

1. Donate your Money
You can donate your money to a variety of programs, the obvious organizations being the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the United Way. You can also look up programs local to the disaster-affected area by searching the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) state and territory members list. Money will always be the best donation you can make.

2. Volunteer to Raise Money
Whether you ask coworkers to pitch in, start a collection at church, or even ask your neighbors if they’d like to donate — just ask. You can also put a fundraiser collection jar or box at work, school, or church so people can donate when they can. While people may be inclined to donate items, they usually aren’t as beneficial as you think. The logistics of getting the to where they need to be, and distributed can be a disaster in itself.

Items to avoid donating are:
• Bottled water (it’s too expensive to ship)
• Canned food (shipping and climate control can compromise the food)
• Toys
• Clothes
• Medical supplies (they can’t verify the quality of the products)

Again, this is a situation where money talks. In reality, the money you send to relief efforts actually goes towards the purchase of these items in a way that is easier in terms of logistics, and can actually help stimulate the disaster-ridden area’s economy.

3. Give Blood
By now, you guys know that I am a huge proponent of donating blood. Floods and the like can destroy blood banks, and power outages can make supplies worthless also, so now is the time to go out and donate. Check out redcross.org for a list of local blood drives.

Health care and medical attention are one of the most immediate concerns in the path of a major storm or natural disaster. While medical corporations and government agencies often donate medical supplies and send in medical professionals, they can’t simulate life-giving blood. People all over the country can donate blood to help those affected in these areas.

These are just a couple of ways that you can help those affected by natural disaster. But please be sure that you are donating to legitimate organization, whether you do that on a national level or seek out local organizations in the affected areas. Novad.org is a good place to start.
NOVAD also reminds you that is you are interested in physically volunteering in an area to never self-deploy. “Seeing images of disaster may compel you to head to the impacted area. Don’t underestimate the complexity of working in a disaster area. Until a need has been identified and the local community impacted has requested support, volunteers should not enter.”

They also advise to:
– Be sure to affiliate with existing voluntary organization before coming to the disaster area, and that organization has been asked to respond.
– Wait until it is safe to travel to volunteer sites and opportunities have been identified.
– Once assigned a position, make sure you have been given an assignment and are wearing proper safety gear for the task.
Be patient. Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after the disaster – especially when the community enters the long-term recovery period.