disaster aid

MORE than 1,000 British troops are in a race against time to get aid to the Caribbean as yet another hurricane headed towards the batters the region. Royal Marine Commandos and engineers are continuing to gather medical supplies, food, water and building materials to send to the British Virgin Islands (BVIs), Anguilla, and Turks and Caicos after Storm Maria was upgraded to a hurricane overnight.

How has the coverage of natural disasters changed in the social media age?

A Venezuelan army plane carrying 7.3 tons of humanitarian aid arrived in Havana on Tuesday, becoming the first foreign relief to arrive in Cuba after Hurricane Irma battered the island over the weekend. The Chinese-made Y-8 plane touched down at Jose Marti International Airport with a message of solidarity from the people and government of Venezuela, Havana's main political and economic ally in the region.

Natural disasters know no political boundaries. And that’s why international humanitarian relief flows so quickly, and in such great and humbling quantities, when hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis strike. But today, with Houston suffering as Mother Nature’s latest victim, will the world’s giving nations step-up and step-in to help American relief efforts?

Markos Kounalakis explores whether other countries will provide humanitarian aid for Texas in wake of President Trump's behavior.

The Cuban government announced today it is sending a medical team to Haiti for the relief of the victims after the devastating hurricane “Matthew”, local media reported. “A brigade of 38 Cuban doctors specialized in disaster situations will leave for Haiti,” said an official note read on Cuban television.

Israel will be sending a search and rescue team to Nepal, including medical staff, in the wake of Saturday's massive earthquake, sources in the Prime Minister's Office have said. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also said that Israel plans to send an aircraft to evacuate any Israelis who want to return home from site of the disaster.

Turkey was the world’s third most generous country for the allocation of international aid in 2013, according to the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report released on Sept. 11. The country provided $1.6 billion last year for international humanitarian assistance, while the U.S. spent $4.7 billion and Britain spent $1.8 billion. Japan spent $1.1 billion and Germany donated $949 million.