Stories

Hurricane Fiona hit Atlantic Canada and the Caribbean days ago and we're gathering support for those communities affected.

After battering Bermuda with heavy rain, strong winds, and massive waves, Hurricane Fiona took aim at northeastern Canada, one of the strongest storms on record for the region.

Fiona, a Category 4 hurricane, ripped through northeastern Canada, producing significant coastal flooding and damaging hurricane-force wind gusts and dangerous storm surges. They continue to deal with widespread power outages. 

Disaster Aid Canada is in touch with our Rotary contacts in the area to provide support to those most in need. We will continue to update our donors as we get more details on the relief efforts in the area. 

Thank you for your donation support for Atlantic Canada. Please click here to donate.

50 Disaster Aid Canada tents finally arrived in Ukraine. It took a long while, and the distribution plan changed several times during transit. We shared a sea container with two other organizations; one of them was the Canadian Ukrainian Social Service. They had already shipped 18 containers of medical equipment to the area and arranged all the necessary paperwork for clearing customs. Much time and organization were saved collaborating with these organizations.

With assistance from the Ukraine military, the tents are then transported by trucks headed to hospitals still under Ukraine control on the Eastern front. One hospital mentioned is in Dnipro, and another in Kharkiv, but things change rapidly. We are confident the tents will be well received. More than 400 medical centers/hospitals have been damaged by Russian attacks.

Typhoon Odette (Rai) made its first landfalls in the Philippines and hit the island of Dinagat.

The Island, a province known for its pristine beaches, is home to over 128,000 people. With over 375 dead and many more missing this has been one of the worst typhoons to hit the Philippines.

Information from the Dinagat Islands has been extremely limited as a result of the crippled power and telecommunication lines. What we do know is thousands of homes have been flattened.

Disaster Aid International partners Disaster Aid Malaysia and Disaster Aid Australia have direct contacts, Balay Mindanaw, in the region. Those partners have traveled to the island with SkyHydrants to provide urgently needed safe drinking water.

To date, they have 7 SkyHydrants ready to ship to communities in Cebu City, Siargao, and Northern Bohol, supported by the Rotary Club of Pasig.

These will be shipped as soon as air freight space can be found.

They will also be assessing how they can deliver further assistance over the coming days with our support.

(reference Disaster Aid Australia - Brian Ashworth)

If you would like to help Disaster Aid International’s response to help the people of Dinaget please donate.

Help Support BC residents affected by the devastating storm and floods that hit the province on November 14-15th, 2021. 

Historic rain levels hit the SouthWest corner of BC causing floods and landslides. Abbotsford, Princeton, Merritt, and areas on Vancouver Island were evacuated and are still displaced from their homes. Hundreds of motorists were stranded and helicoptered out by the Department of National Defense near Hope as mudslides on the highway left them without exit options. Major highways were shut down, washed away in sections from rising river levels, and are still under the observation of civil engineers to determine the toll of damage and expected re-opening timeline. 

Disaster Aid Canada is in communication with our Rotary and support contacts in the affected areas. Through their first-hand knowledge, we are able to gather funds to provide direct aid to meet the needs of the region.

We will be collaborating with Rotary groups and other organizations to bring support to the people affected. We will update as the details of the programs come our way.

Please donate what you can to help BC Residents. - Please click here to DONATE

BC Storms Emergency Support Update January 2022:

Disaster Aid Canada continues to provide aid to those that are still feeling the effects of last fall's devastating storm in BC. Your support has helped the people of the Tri-City area, the Interior, and Vancouver Island after the storm and floods displaced thousands of residents from their homes. Contacts have been made in areas such as Merritt, Princeton, Kamloops, and Richmond and we continue to add communities.

The raised funds continue to support Rotary groups such as the Rotary Club of Merritt and the Rotary Club of Steveston-Richmond, in cooperation with local community associations, to support the people directly affected by these floods, those most vulnerable to the devastation. We are in direct contact with them as they find ways to support people who have not received government funding, are not eligible for insurance claims, or just need help in the interim. 

We are so appreciative of the funds donated so far for the Wildfire and Storm victims in British Columbia.

Your donations have helped address the gaps in immediate emergency services and in the interim services for those who lost their homes. Through the support of gift card donations, supporting local food banks, replacing computers, and providing PPE equipment, we have helped those impacted by storms and wildfires in 2021 and are now developing plans to help with temporary structures as winter impacts the communities. The rebuilding phase in these areas will take some time and funds will be critical once the weather improves in the spring.

Disaster Aid Canada will continue to support these communities hit hardest by these storms. PLEASE DONATE

A 7.2 magnitude Earthquake hit Les Cayes, Haiti on August 15, 2021. The quake has claimed over 1,400 lives and injured thousands more. Haiti is still showing scars of the devastating earthquake in 2010 and the following major Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Most Haitians from Les Cayes that have lost their homes to this disaster have moved to a tent city at a stadium.  

Disaster Aid Canada is working with Rotary Groups and other organizations in the affected area to help place the support in the hands of those that need it. We are prepared to send shelter to those displaced from their homes. The evaluation of need is ongoing and Disaster Aid Canada will continue to update our donors as we receive reports from the region. We will update as the details of the programs come our way. Please donate what you can to help Haiti. - Please click here to DONATE

BC has declared a State of Emergency, with hundreds of fires burning in our province. Smokey skies, eerie sunsets, and low air quality have people concerned. There are severe wind warnings changing the current conditions rapidly and forcing more evacuation orders and alerts. Currently, 18,000 properties are either on alert or evacuation.

Thousands of people have been evacuated, across multiple BC towns. Firefighters from across the world have arrived to help, and support is being brought in to help anyone affected by the fires.

Disaster Aid Canada will be collaborating with Rotary groups and other organizations to bring support to people affected by wildfires. We will update as the details of the programs come our way.

Please donate what you can to help BC Residents. - Please click here to DONATE

BC Wildfire Update January 2022:

Disaster Aid Canada continues to provide aid to those that are still feeling the effects of last summer's devastating fire season in BC. Across BC, 32,882 people were displaced due to the fires.

The raised funds have been going to support the Rotary BC Wildfire Relief Team. This collaboration is a centralized project to enable the collection of donations to assist the affected regions to directly support people affected by the wildfires. Evacuees have received Gift Cards for food, supplies, and fuel. Many of the evacuees from the town of Lytton were hit a second time, as they had relocated to Merritt and were hit by floods this fall.

While Lytton hasn't been re-built, it is still very much active in the surrounding area and looking forward to eventually rebuilding the community. DAC is supporting the local volunteer fire department by helping to replace their safety equipment. The Firehall and all the equipment inside were lost in the fire. We are providing funds for SCBA gear for the fighters. They protect Lytton and the surrounding areas, including 5 indigenous communities.

We will be focused on the rebuilding phase next and that will be lengthy. Funds will be critical once the weather improves in the spring.

To support the rebuilding efforts in BC's Interior please consider donating to the BC Wildfire Support Fund. PLEASE DONATE

Gerry Beltgens, Executive Director Disaster Aid Canada - January 26, 2021

In the fall of 2020 Honduras and Guatemala were hit by named hurricanes Eta and Iota between November 4 and 17, 2020. The rain and wind was so severe that some homes were flooded up to four times in the space of a few weeks. 5.2 Million people were affected in Central America and the Caribbean. 1.5 million people were directly affected in Honduras and Guatemala.

Fort McMurray Flooding Relief Fund