Boston.com has released The Year 2008 in Photographs, and the photos alone are absolutely breathtaking. Even more remarkable is the amount of photos that involved natural disasters this year. Fortunately, the American Red Cross,a Cause on SocialVibe, were there to assist with nearly all of them.
(Click to enlarge!)
An aerial view of floods caused by Tropical Storm Hanna is seen in Gonaives, Haiti on September 3, 2008.
The Red Cross not only provided assistance in the US, but also in Haiti, who were hit hard by Tropical Storm Hanna.
The hand of a dead body lies on the ground amongst the rubble of the earthquake ravaged town May 15, 2008 in Beichuan, Sichuan province, China.
Sichuan, China Earthquake - the American Red Cross has contributed $14 million to support the relief and recovery efforts of the Red Cross Society of China.
Buildings and debris are seen floating in the Cedar River against a railroad bridge Saturday, June 14, 2008. Days after it rose out of its banks on its way to record flooding, the Cedar River has forced at least 24,000 people from their homes, emergency officials said.
The Central US Floods and Tornadoes caused the worst US flooding episode in over a decade. The American Red Cross provided shelters, meals, clean-up and comfort kits, mental health contacts and more.
A fire rages out of control at the backlot filled with movie sets at Universal Studios in Universal City, California, 12 miles (19 km) from downtown Los Angeles June 1, 2008. A portion of the set used in Steven Spielberg's film "War of the Worlds" including a jet airplane is shown foreground.
As wildfires raced across many parts of Southern California, Red Cross volunteers opened the doors of shelters to ensure evacuees had a safe place to rest.
Cyclone Nargis victims huddle in torrential rain as they await assistance in Dedaye Township, southwest of Yangon, Myanmar on May 19, 2008. Political resistance to outside aid and a slow response by the government worsened an already devastating situation - an estimated 146,000 people lost their lives.
The Red Cross has provided more than $2 million to support relief efforts in Myanmar following Cyclone Nargis. Numerous plane and boat loads of supplies have arrived in Yangon. The American Red Cross also provided $250,000 in financial assistance and deployed an international disaster response worker to help with relief and recovery efforts.
A single home is left standing among debris from Hurricane Ike September 14, 2008 in Gilchrist, Texas. In its brief, but eventful life, Ike wreaked enough havoc to be blamed for over $31.5 billion dollars in damage and nearly 150 deaths across the Caribbean and Gulf Coast.
Thousands of Red Cross staff and volunteers were in the storm-affected areas, offering those who were in Hurricane Ike’s path a safe place to stay, food, toiletries and a comforting ear.
Click here for more information about how the Red Cross helped with these catastrophes, and be sure to check out the complete list of boston.com's choosing them as your Cause on SocialVibe.
via Red Cross Chat
