Emergencies: CARE in action

			Syrian refugee crisis More than 1.5 million people are displaced by ongoing conflict in Syria and are now seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. CARE is on the ground in Jordan helping some of the almost 486,000 Syrian refugees who fled their homes, with thousands more crossing the border every day. Read more
Northern Mali Violent conflict in northern Mali is preventing aid organisations from assessing people's needs or deliving relief items. Read more			Democratic Republic of Congo More than 410,000 people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to violence and conflict. Read more
Lesotho Due to a series of floods, late rains, and early frost, more than 725,000 people – 40 per cent of Lesotho's population – will be short of food. Read more			South Sudan The world's youngest nation faces huge challenges including rising violence, lack of government services and deep poverty. Read more
Chad Chad is struggling with a new influx of refugees from neigbouring Central Africa Republic (CAR) and Sudan, as regional violence in both countries has intensified. Read more			Myanmar conflict In Myanmar's northern Rakhine state more than 115,000 people are homeless following two outbreaks of violence. Read more
West Africa In the Sahel region of West Africa, 18.7 million people (almost the population of Australia) will go hungry tonight. Read more			Yemen Yemen remains in the midst of a complex emergency, with humanitarian needs continuing to grow at an alarming rate. Read more
Sudan After a recent outbreak of violence in Darfur, Sudan, thousands of people have left their homes in search of shelter and security. Read more			Afghanistan floods Heavy rainfall has caused a series of flash floods across northern Afghanistan, with more than 1200 homes destroyed. Read more

CARE's global emergency work

The world’s poorest people are the most vulnerable to natural disasters, war, famine and outbreaks of disease. In the initial emergency response phase, just after the emergency has occurred, CARE provides food, shelter, clean water, sanitation facilities, medical care, tools and seeds to the people who need it most. After this initial survival phase, CARE continues to help people rebuild their lives and restore their livelihoods in the years following the event.

In addition to emergency response, we also work with communities to help them prepare and plan for emergencies. For example, in the low-lying islands of Vanuatu we are helping communities develop evacuation plans in the event of a tsunami or cyclone. This helps ensure communities are equipped to respond to, and survive, emergencies in the future.

In 2010/11, CARE International responded to 24 new emergencies.

To find out more about CARE's response to global emergencies read CARE's Humanitarian Action Fact Sheet.

Women and natural disasters 

© CARE

In poor communities around the world, man-made and natural disasters disproportionately affect women. On average, more  women die during and shortly after disasters than men because:

• Women are likely to rescue their children over themselves, and are less likely to know how to swim or climb their way to safety.
• In the aftermath of disasters, women typically have less cash savings, lower levels of education and smaller social networks to draw upon than men, consequently suffering more from the impact.

CARE recognises that women play a crucial role in reducing the impact of natural disasters on their community. As women usually have the role of collecting firewood and water, tending vegetable gardens, preparing meals and circulating information within their family and community, women possess valuable experience and insights that can help before and after a disaster strikes.

CARE works with women, and their families, to determine how best to prepare for emergencies and mitigate the potential impact to people’s lives and livelihoods.

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CARE's Emergency Response Team

CARE's team of emergency experts assist the survivors of natural disasters and conflict with immediate relief and longer-term community rehabilitation.

You can support this work by joining the Emergency Response Team and making monthly donations to CARE that help save lives after global emergencies.

Last updated: 3/5/2013