by David You ‘19, Staff Writer

Over the span of one and a half weeks, Hurricane Matthew devastated the Bahamas and the Southeastern border of the United States. The hurricane made landfall in Haiti on October 4 as a Category 4 hurricane with wind speeds up to 140 mph. Afterward, the hurricane moved up the Bahamas and on to the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The hurricane hit the U.S. on October 8 at McClellanville, South Carolina as a category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds.

During the hurricane, Governor Rick Scott warned Floridians to evacuate: “Unfortunately, this is going to kill people.” After the declaration, Waffle House decided to close all restaurants in the affected areas. Waffle Houses are famous for staying open during natural disasters; closing them suggests that the natural disaster will be catastrophic. The Waffle House Index is unofficially used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) because of its reputation and reliability during disasters.

While Hurricane Matthew only killed 43 people in the US, it killed hundreds in Haiti and left thousands displaced from their homes.  As the poorest country in the Americas, Haiti’s lack of structural integrity led to an increase in fatalities and destruction. Over 80% of the buildings were destroyed in the town of Jeremie. Authorities estimate that the number of deaths in Haiti ranges from 300 to 1,000 people. Currently, officials are worried about a cholera outbreak due to the lack of clean water in Haiti.

The American Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to the public for $6.9 million dollars. Unicef has also requested $5 million in order to help the 500,000 affected children. In addition, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has pledged to send aid to help those in Haiti. USAID has provided a total of $28 million for Hurricane Matthew relief efforts. According to Betsy Zaubler ‘17, an executive member of the Community Service Council, “Direct monetary aid is an important way for the U.S. to help Haiti, but I also think that working with existing non-profit organizations is also critical because they already have resources in place.”

Mrs. Fischer, NA’s community service director, believes in the same principle of humanitarian aid through non-governmental organizations. As she explains, “NGOs (non-governmental organizations) alone cannot solve the issues in Haiti or other countries post-disaster; however, they can make a huge impact by working with the affected population to identify local needs and the most sustainable methods of delivering aid and support.” As a native from the south, Mrs. Fischer has experienced many of the difficulties faced by victims of Hurricane Matthew. She recalls, “I worked with the Literacy Alliance and AmeriCorps that sought to help adult and ESL learners. Many of the teenagers we served were forced to either repeat a full year of high school at night while still attending school during the day or get a GED when most of the high school records were lost in the flooding.”

In September, the Community Service Council spotlighted Natural Disasters. The council held a casual day during which students could bring in $2 to support victims of natural disasters such as Hurricane Matthew. As CSC member Kyra Cooperman ‘19 explains, “The best thing that NA can do as a community to help those affected by Hurricane Matthew is to raise money and talk about the event.” While our community service is not typically targeted toward natural disasters such as Hurricane Matthew, service events nearby help local populations in need of food, water, or shelter. Kyra expresses, “Our events are typically targeted towards helping the more immediate community, such as Newark.” Although tragedies such as Hurricane Matthew may seem a world away, we can do a lot to help — even with just $2. In Betsy’s words, “A lot of money can be raised when a significant portion of the community participates in these initiatives, and every penny counts.”