Over the past month, we have seen floods of epic proportion devastate areas across the US and South East Asia. Texas was hit with Hurricane Harvey, which has left 31 dead and has caused a monumental amount of damage. In southeast Asia, heavy monsoon rains have caused disastrous floods and left millions displaced.
Despite the horrific nature of these events, they have brought out the best in some people, such as this mattress store owner who is now housing 400 people displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Large corporations are also chipping in to offer their support such as Facebook, Amazon, and Google.
Google says it will be matching $1 million in donations to the American Red Cross for those affected by Harvey. The silicon valley giant also matched donations from employees and said Tuesday it donated $750,000 between its non-profit arm, Google.org, and employee contributions to multiple organizations such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and Save the Children.
The leading tech organization also implemented additional features into their services to help those who were affected by the terrible floods in Texas. The search engine’s Crisis Response team has set up an SOS alert and a Harvey-focused Google map listing traffic problems, road closures, and shelter locations.
Those impacted by flooding in India and southeast Asia have not gone unnoticed either as Google.org and Google employees have committed $1 million to Goonj and Save the Children for their relief efforts in the affected areas.
Millions of people have been affected by severe flooding and landslides across Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, said Rajan Anandan, Google Vice President (South East Asia and India), in a company blog post. He stated, “Children are often the most vulnerable in crises like these, and SC (Save the Children) is also focused on setting up child-friendly spaces where children can gain access to educational materials and playtime, in a safe space away from the devastation.”
The post also went on to highlight that at least 1,200 people are known to have died, and tens of thousands of houses, schools, and hospitals have been destroyed, leaving people in urgent need of support as this disastrous event continues to wreak havoc as well as once flood waters recede.
During these floods, many locals also showed their support for people suffering from the floods. Mumbai citizens united and used the power of social media to reach out and help through hashtags like #Rainhosts #MumbaiRains. The Tweeters opened up their homes to stranded individuals and provided them with shelter, food, clean clothes, and water.
These are sad times for all countries affected by these terrifying natural disasters, but with the support of businesses – large and small, along with kind citizens, it is possible for people to be saved and for communities to be rebuilt in time.
