Disaster network streamlines contributions in disastrous times

By James Hyatt

September was National Preparedness Month—to a serious degree, at many corporations.

Two hurricanes—Gustav and Ike—brought injury and destruction to the southern United States, and provided new tests of business disaster relief planning.

Disaster planning has undergone considerable change in recent years, particularly following the Asian tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina the next year, as companies have faced demands for assistance around the world.

Such events have persuaded companies to help find “a more efficient way to match corporate resources with the needs of first responders,” says Tom Lehner, Director of Public Policy at the Business Roundtable. In 2006,

A year ago, the Business Roundtable and the American Red Cross sent up a disaster contribution network “to find out what their needs are on the ground,” Lehner says. So recently, when Hurricane Ike emerged, the Partnership was able to post to major companies its list of most needed items: 30,000 energy bars, 1000 cases of 16 oz. water containers, 5,000 garden hoses, for example.  For the recent California wildfires, the Red Cross requested warehouse space and fuel cards for vehicles.

To date, Roundtable members have donated more than $26 million to hurricane relief this year, and more than $67 million for assistance following the Sichuan Province earthquake in May.

The Partnership’s website (www.respondtodisaster.com ) offers Top Ten Myths of
Disaster Relief. No. 1: “The best way to help disaster victims is by providing urgently needed supplies, such as food, clothing, shoes and blankets.”  In reality, the group says, “in most cases, the cost of shipping these items makes them more of a burden on the relief effort than a useful tool.”

The group says “cash is almost always a more useful gift than product contributions.”