Support local people and organizations at the forefront of response
A historic hurricane hit parts of Texas and Louisiana this week, flooding areas with over four feet of water and displacing tens of thousands of people from their homes. Even now the full scale and impact of Hurricane Harvey are still unknown, but emergency and first responders are on the ground helping those affected.
Throughout this emergency, local people and organizations have been working tirelessly to save lives and when it comes time to rebuild their communities, they will be there. As we see in disasters around the world and here in the US, at the forefront of emergency responses are local people—with their understanding of the realities on the ground and passion for helping in their communities—who deserve our support.
This approach is fundamental to our humanitarian response. We work with local leaders to ensure they get the funds, training, and influence they need to protect their communities. While we don’t have any partners in the Houston area, we do have staff and an office in New Orleans, as well as several partners in Louisiana. We are working with them every day to assess the situation and determine if we can offer useful support.
Right now, one way to support local organizations responding to the recent floods in Texas is by supporting the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, housed by the Greater Houston Community Foundation.
You can also read Oxfam’s blog post on lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina that is applicable to the situation unfolding on the ground.