How to Help Earthquake Victims Rebuild: 7 Easy Ways
As with other natural disasters, earthquakes can come without warning and quickly leave thousands of people without necessities. The damage can take place in just a few minutes, but the financial sting can be with victims for months if not years.
From 1998 to 2017, earthquakes resulted in almost 750,000 deaths globally, and more than 125 million people have been affected by them during that time, according to the World Health Organization. This category consists of victims who were wounded, went without shelter, were homeless, or evacuated during the emergency phase of the disaster. Earthquake survivors often require extended medical care and life-saving support.
There are numerous ways you can help earthquake victims at home and abroad, thankfully. Whether it be volunteer work, fundraising drives, or the smaller act of simply helping a neighbor, learn how you can make a real difference to our disaster-struck communities with this disaster relief guide.
1. Support a charity that offers earthquake relief
According to a model developed by the USGS, 49 million people in the US are “somewhat likely” to experience damage from an earthquake in the coming decades. Fortunately, there are numerous charitable organizations that help earthquake victims in the U.S., supporting homes, businesses, and entire communities with earthquake relief. Mental health support services are also sometimes offered by these organizations.
Here is a selection of charities that often assist victims of an earthquake or work to get communities ready in case one occurs. Groups like Mental Health America, NAMI, or other mental health charities could work with these orgs to make sure victims and loved ones are cared for:
- Team Rubicon: This nonprofit emergency response team is staffed by military veterans looking for a way to keep serving in their post-military lives. The military veterans partner with medical professionals and first responders to respond to communities hit by devastating disasters, from places such as Türkiye, Syria, and Ukraine.
- California Residential Mitigation Program: This foundation provides help to California residents with the Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) program, which helps Californians pay to brace and bolt older homes to the foundation as a guard against earthquakes. Older houses get a “residential seismic retrofit,” where bolts and bracing are installed around the perimeter and foundation of the house to minimize the chance of the structure collapsing in the event of a major earthquake.
- Americares: Americares has provided emergency response and long-term aid to the impoverished and disaster-stricken since 1979. It responds to about 30 emergencies a year, from hurricanes and earthquakes to tsunamis and health emergencies. One of their catch phrases is “Ready, Respond, Recover.” Their relief efforts range the globe from Indonesia to Iran and to regions struck by the Nepal earthquake or Haiti earthquake, for example.
2. Seek government support
In the aftermath of an earthquake, the U.S. federal government is also on hand to help earthquake victims. Here are some of the government programs available to ensure individuals and businesses stay safe and rebuild. They also link people to health care, mental health care, and public policy advice in recovering for the long term.
- Emergency Shelters and Safety Information: Following a natural disaster, you can find emergency shelters and disaster recovery centers by using the FEMA app. The app also provides real-time updates from the National Weather Service and provides emergency safety tips. To get the app, go to FEMA’s website.
- Disaster Relief Loans: Homeowners and renters who are victims of natural disasters may receive emergency financial help from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), provided they live in a declared disaster area. The SBA provides low-interest, long-term loans (up to $500,000) to residents for expenses to repair or replace the primary residence. For businesses, this can rise to $2 million.
- Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA): For some, earthquakes, or storms, or other disasters keep people from showing up to work, and for them, the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program helps. The maximum benefit is up to 26 weeks for people who have lost their job, or have no job to go back to because of the disaster, cannot get to work, or cannot work due to a disaster-related injury. Find more information and apply by visiting the United States Department of Labor website.
3. Give blood
All it takes is about 45 minutes of your time to give your pint of blood, but what a good use to which to put your time: saving a life. Following a natural disaster, organizations such as the American Red Cross provide people with such immediate needs as hot meals, a place to sleep, and assistance in the days and weeks ahead. This is why your blood donation is vital.
Visit their site for more on how you can sign up to give blood.
4. Donate items
Donation of items, be it food or garments, can offer a lifeline to people and areas affected by earthquakes. But if you are donating, it’s crucial to do so through a disaster relief organization or the government.
They post a list of what they need so you can avoid sending things that aren’t necessary and can overwhelm distribution centers. You should make sure you give items:
- That are on the list.
- When they are requested.
- To the organization, not the affected area.
5. Volunteer your time
If you’re in the vicinity of the disaster, you can contact organizations that assist earthquake victims and see if they’d like some help with a disaster recovery plan. Mental health initiatives also often need volunteers trained in trauma response. Animals, too, require our assistance following natural disasters, so another volunteering concept is to contact local animal shelters to see how you can help. There is an animal rescue team at The Humane Society, which coordinates with trained volunteers to aid these displaced animals in finding temporary foster homes or even permanent adoptive ones.
If you would like to contribute from a distance, contact your local food bank and inquire whether it will be accepting donations for those affected by the disaster.
6. Spread awareness online
Utilize social media and contribute to increasing the awareness around the consequences of an earthquake via your channels: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube.
Whether you’re sharing an emergency fundraiser, a charity link, or posting updates about the search and rescue effort, sharing vital information to your various networks on social media helps to raise awareness and increase engagement.
7. Start a fundraiser
Crowdfunding in the wake of an earthquake is an immediate way to help victims of natural disasters, even if you’re short on money. Through GoFundMe, you can start crowdfunding for natural disasters and quickly raise money for whatever earthquake victims need most at the moment.
Here are some of the most typical ways to raise disaster relief money:
- Help a specific family in need with home repairs, money for a temporary home, or groceries, and well-being.
- Raise money for an entire community. Get in touch with city officials and determine where help is most required, and concentrate fundraising efforts in those areas.
- Partner with a favorite local business that needs help rebuilding.
- Start a certified charity fundraiser for a disaster relief organization that can have a more widespread impact.
A GoFundMe is also ideal for long-term giving because there is no deadline to withdraw your funds. You can continue to raise money as long as earthquake relief is needed, whether that is for a few weeks or a few years. Plus, our fundraising platform means that more of the donations you receive can be used to help people in need. Find out more about crowdfunding with our answers to some of the most common fundraising questions.
Real people who received help from crowdfunding
Thousands have pieced together their lives with the aid of charities and government assistance, but just as many have come to understand they will never be whole without extended help. These survivors from across the globe turned to GoFundMe in search of healing and recovery in the wake of their devastating earthquakes.
Ahmed’s home rebuild
The 2023 Moroccan quake was a deadly one. It was also destructive. Ahmed was among the unfortunate, the now homeless. When the earthquake rumbled through the Al Haouz region, in the High Atlas region, south of Marrakech, Ahmed lost everything. His cousin, Brahim, who hoped to chip in however he could, launched a fundraiser.
With some aid from the government, Ahmed is still €4,000 short to rebuild his house. Every penny will go towards getting a roof over Ahmed’s head before the bitter winter strikes.
Rebuilding lives
Wajima city is in the Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, where Haruna is collecting money for his family. The area was devastated by an earthquake and floods during September 2024.
The earthquake hit on New Year’s Day, and people have been working hard to rebuild their homes, farms, and businesses ever since. Recent rainfall and flooding have unfortunately destroyed any progress. All donations will go to Haruna’s family and the wider community so they can rebuild their lives.
Earthquake statistics: Why people need your support
- Total Number of Earthquakes on the planet in 2023: 1,712. (M5 or more).
- The Los Angeles earthquake of January 17th, 1994, resulted in estimated damage of up to $30 billion.
- The United States suffered the most under the largest earthquake in U.S. history, which struck Prince William Sound, Alaska, on Good Friday, March 28, 1964 UTC. 131 people died.
- The world’s largest earthquake, magnitude 9.5, struck on May 22, 1960, in southern Chile near Valdivia. Approximately 1,655 deaths, 3,000 injuries, and 2,000,000 people were displaced.
- The highest death toll was produced by the China Tangshan earthquake in 1976, which caused 242,000+ deaths, and the second highest amount of deaths ever was the Haiti earthquake in 2010, where 222,570+ people lost their lives to it.
Help earthquake victims right now
Look to a disaster relief fund and give financial support to people in need. Whether that’s a best friend or an international charity, we can help you raise money.
Create a GoFundMe and start raising funds to support earthquake survivors today.