Reuters Business Channel | Reuters.com-Problems linger as aid flows in for Java quake victims

Reuters Business Channel | Reuters.com: "(Adds U.S. Marines, Japanese paramedics land, quotes on aid)

By Achmad Sukarsono

BANTUL, Indonesia, May 30 (Reuters) - International relief efforts picked up on Tuesday for survivors of the earthquake that killed more than 5,000 people on Indonesia's Java island, but many victims complained that vital aid was not reaching them.

Planes carrying supplies and foreign experts, including Japanese paramedics and a small contingent of U.S. Marines, reached the stricken region to supplement government aid and workers."

Tags: Indonesia quake aid

The Shreveport Times-Nonprofits add disaster relief to duties

The Shreveport Times: "Last September, Shreveport-Bossier City's nonprofit and faith-based agencies added a new duty to their job description: disaster relief.

Sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry and sharing the gospel are hefty tasks on a normal day, but the influx of tens of thousands of evacuees stretched resources and skills to their limits.

'As I think back on it, the nature of what we had to deal with was so overwhelming, it was beyond our experience level,' said Joe Pierce, executive director of the United Way of Northwest Louisiana. 'Previous times we've opened shelters for two or three days. This time we gave a party and 40,000 people came.'

Pre-Katrina, organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army specialized in disaster relief."

Tags: Katrina, Nonprofit disaster relief

Channelnewsasia.com-Singapore contributes $50,000 in aid to Thai flood victims

Channelnewsasia.com: "Singapore contributes $50,000 in aid to Thai flood victims

The Singapore government will be contributing some $50,000 in aid to victims of the floods in northern Thailand. "

Tags: Thai flood aid

The Stanford Daily Online Edition-Students fundraise for Indonesia disaster

The Stanford Daily Online Edition: "Skip a Starbucks, Save an Orphan.” With this as their slogan, the Indonesian Club at Stanford (ICS) and the Muslim Students Awareness Network (MSAN) have teamed up to raise money to support the GiveLight Foundation, which, according to its Web site, is a “world recognized crisis relief organization that seeks to create durable orphanages in response to natural disasters.”

Organizers said the Foundation originated as a response to the tsunamis that struck Southeast Asia Dec. 26, 2004, killing tens of thousands.

“The founder, Dian Alyan, started it soon after the 2004 tsunamis hit in Southeast Asia,” said MSAN member Nabill Idrisi, a freshman."

White House staff holds hurricane exercise - Yahoo! News

White House staff holds hurricane exercise - Yahoo! News: "ASHINGTON -
President Bush's Cabinet tested its readiness and response to a catastrophic hurricane during a desktop drill carried out in a quiet office building in the nation's capital."

Lowell Sun Online - Lowell's flood tab climbs to $25M

Lowell Sun Online - Lowell's flood tab climbs to $25M: "Lowell's flood tab climbs to $25M
By HILLARY CHABOT, Sun Staff

LOWELL -- Raging floodwaters hit miles of Lowell roads, bridges, water pumps and parks harder than any other community in Massachusetts, according to city estimates.

The city told Federal Management Agency representatives yesterday that it has $25 million in damages to local infrastructure. City officials in Lawrence estimate damages at $10.7 million, and Methuen officials at $1.3 million."

Tags: New England Flood

Gregg:FEMA says it will speed N.H. flood aid - Boston.com

Gregg:FEMA says it will speed N.H. flood aid - Boston.com: "Gregg:FEMA says it will speed N.H. flood aid

By The Associated Press | May 24, 2006

Sen. Judd Gregg says the national Homeland Security chief has assured him the government will act quickly on New Hampshire's request for help to recover from last week's flooding."

Reuters AlertNet - What do you mean you don't speak English?

Reuters AlertNet - What do you mean you don't speak English?: "Jack Campbell, from ActionAid's Emergencies and Conflict team, says the new U.N. 'cluster' approach to disasters isn't working, if experience after October's Kashmir quake is anything to go by.

Imagine disaster strikes in a corner of France. Casualties are high, chaos is total. An international relief effort rolls in, and proceeds to carry out all meetings and briefings in English, with not a French translator in sight. It just wouldn't happen.

But in Pakistan, ActionAid found that the United Nations failed to provide Urdu translators in coordination meetings in the aftermath of the Kashmir earthquake."

All Headline News - Reggie Bush Won't Be #5 At New Orleans - May 24, 2006

All Headline News - Reggie Bush Won't Be #5 At New Orleans - May 24, 2006:
snip snip>>
"The number five is special to me, but with proceeds from the jersey sales, I was trying to do something special for the city of New Orleans and the entire region.'

Bush adds, 'However, I am going to keep my pledge of donating 25 percent of my jersey sales to aid the Katrina relief efforts.'"

La. Holding Hurricane Evacuation Drill - Yahoo! News

La. Holding Hurricane Evacuation Drill - Yahoo! News: "For the next two days, the city will test new evacuation plans and emergency response strategies meant to prevent the widespread confusion, especially among the poor, that accompanied the approach of Hurricane Katrina last year."

· DL-Online ·House bill requires pets to be considered in disaster plans

· DL-Online ·: "House bill requires pets to be considered in disaster plans

Published Tuesday, May 23, 2006
From asap

The next time a disaster like Hurricane Katrina strikes, rescuers may have to take pets in as well as humans.

The Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act from Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., passed the House on Monday. It requires state and local preparedness offices take into account pet owners, household pets and service animals when drawing up evacuation plans. Offices that fail to do so would not qualify for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency."

· IN-FORUM ·"Donations grow

· IN-FORUM ·: "Donations grow
By Teri Finneman, The Forum
Published Tuesday, May 23, 2006
·
Bobcat Co. will donate nearly $67,000 to the local American Red Cross today, the largest single donation the chapter has received for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts."

WHDH-TV - Boston - Federal, state relief agencies assess flood damage

WHDH-TV - Boston - Federal, state relief agencies assess flood damage: "OWELL (AP) -- Residents and business owners in flood-striken parts of Massachusetts will be spending the weekend assessing the damage.

In one Lowell neighborhood yesterday, people were tossing damaged belonging into piles on the curb for the city to haul away.

Across hard-hit Middlesex and Essex counties, state and federal emergency management teams began tallying up the flood damage that's expected in the tens of millions of dollars.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency says based on a preliminary survey, the floods damaged about 14-thousand homes in 44 communities."

cbs4boston.com - Saugus Leaders Start Flood Fundraising Effort

cbs4boston.com - Saugus Leaders Start Flood Fundraising Effort: "Saugus Leaders Start Flood Fundraising Effort
Watch the Latest Forecast
If Your Home Floods

(CBS4) SAUGUS An emergency fund is being started in Saugus for the city’s flood victims. Community leaders have come together to start the fund, with the goal of raising money, and getting those funds to the people who need them, quicky.

“We can not raise enough to help everyone but hopefully we can help some who are displaced or unable to meet basic needs. We are looking to everyone in Saugus to help create this fund,” said Selectman Michael Kelleher.
"

Eyewitness News - State officials urge charitable giving for flood victims

Eyewitness News - State officials urge charitable giving for flood victims: "state officials urge charitable giving for flood victims

BOSTON State officials urge people who want to help out victims from this week's flooding to do so wisely.
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Christine McCombs says donated goods and volunteers that aren't specifically needed can actually hurt more than help."

The Sun Herald | 05/18/2006 | Clearinghouse idea works

The Sun Herald | 05/18/2006 | Clearinghouse idea works: "GULFPORT - Most sectors of the Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal crafted lengthy lists of recommendations for creating a better post-Katrina South Mississippi. But the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee made only three suggestions.

'That's because every meeting we had, we heard the same things time after time, even when different people were there,' said Reginald Sykes, chairman of the committee and vice president of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College's Jefferson Davis campus. 'We felt as a committee that the main thing we needed is to do a better job of organizing nonprofits. That's where the idea of a clearinghouse was mentioned.'

And the Mississippi Center for Nonprofits promptly began working on the three recommendations.

Nonprofit and faith-based groups played a crucial role in people's survival after Katrina and continue to play a key role in recovery and rebuilding. Thousands of volunteers and billions in relief dollars have flowed from every corner of the nation and world through these groups. In the case of the federal government's slow, lackluster response to Katrina, nonprofits in many cases were the first responders."

Channelnewsasia.com-singapore Red Cross to send 5-member relief team to Merapi

Channelnewsasia.com: "singapore Red Cross to send 5-member relief team to Merapi
By Farah Abdul Rahim, Channel NewsAsia


SINGAPORE : The Singapore Red Cross is sending a five-member relief team to Merapi to assist its counterpart the Indonesian Red Cross and its efforts there.

Also on the way there are five boxes of medical supplies for affected residents and volunteers.

The team is not new to disaster relief. All four nurses and one logistics administrator were involved in post-tsunami relief operations in Meulaboh, and in the aftermath of earthquakes in Nias and Pakistan. "

The Herald-Zeitung-Comal County community leaders are preparing for a disaster of 2005 proportions

The Herald-Zeitung: "comal County community leaders are preparing for a disaster of 2005 proportions — or greater.

The preparations are part of a new effort to ready the county’s leaders for any situation that requires large numbers of organized, well-trained volunteers, such as the influx of hundreds of Hurricane Katrina victims who flooded the community last fall.

Although local groups and individuals rose to the occasion, refusing to let anyone in need fall through the cracks, community leaders quickly realized their response could have been enhanced with a little advance planning."

The Sun Herald | 05/14/2006 | Money comes slowly to new nonprofits

The Sun Herald | 05/14/2006 | Money comes slowly to new nonprofits: "Money comes slowly to new nonprofits
Small charities must prove themselves
By SHELIA BYRD
- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BILOXI - Frances Burney's home smells like fresh paint. It is fully furnished, the white walls are immaculate and not a speck of dust dares to land on the hardwood floors.

Not long ago the house was a waterlogged heap, a grim remnant of Hurricane Katrina. But volunteers from the East Biloxi Coordination and Relief Center cleared out the muck and rebuilt the interior. Without them, the 92-year-old woman would probably still be sleeping on a nursing home bed.

Burney's home was one of thousands all along the Coast either splintered by the hurricane or left in soggy ruins.

City Councilman Bill Stallworth is proud of his relief center's work, but he's frustrated that limited funds restrict the number of houses his center can refurbish. His home is one of those awaiting repair.

Accessing the millions of dollars raised to help Katrina victims can be a challenge for small grassroots organizations such as the relief center. Much of the money is awarded to larger charities with a proven track record, such as the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity."

US officials urge storm-weary residents to brace for hurricane season - Yahoo! News

US officials urge storm-weary residents to brace for hurricane season - Yahoo! News: "ith just weeks to go to the start of what could be another deadly Atlantic hurricane season, officials urged residents of storm-prone Florida to brace for the worst and hope for the best.
ADVERTISEMENT

Experts said they could not rule out another disaster like last year's Hurricane Katrina, though forecasters say they can't tell at this stage whether major hurricanes would again pound the US Gulf and Atlantic coasts this year."