Responding to disaster

Caritas Australia: Before, during and after the headlines.

Our current appeals

Wherever disaster occurs, Caritas is ready to respond. The Caritas Internationalis Confederation is one of world’s largest disaster response and development networks with a presence in over 190 countries.  The confederation enables Caritas Australia to provide assistance to people affected by disaster quickly and effectively.  

Caritas Australia provides assistance to people on the basis of need regardless of race, nationality, gender, political or religious beliefs and is guided by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.

View the slideshow — Emergencies: Caritas responds before, during and after the headlines (2Mb Powerpoint).

Filipinos helping eachother escape the floods caused by the typhoons.

A car hangs from the wall of a building in Pago Pago Harbour after an earthquake caused a tsunami on the island of American Samoa, September 30, 2009. REUTERS/Hugh Gentry

Caritas Australia is providing humanitarian assistance to the thousands of civilians caught in the battle zone in Sri Lanka.

Current appeals

•  Haiti Emergency Response Appeal

•  Communities in Crisis: Asia Pacific Appeal

•  Burma Humanitarian appeal

•  Sri Lanka Humanitarian Crisis Appeal

•  Africa Emergency Appeal

The following recent appeals are now closed — thank you for your generosity:
Zimbabwe Crisis, Congo DRC Crisis, Middle East Emergency Appeal. 

Latest news

For the latest news on our appeals and emergency work subscribe to the News Update and OzSpirit e-newsletters here.

Our disaster response 2010

Find out what impact Caritas Australia has had through our humanitarian work.

Every year around the world over 20 million people — more than the total population of Australia — are left with little more than their lives as a result of natural disasters and conflict.  Depending on the location and scale of a disaster, Caritas Australia will respond directly or assist other Caritas members, local church networks or our Non-Government Organisation partners to provide immediate assistance. 

Archives:

• Disaster response 2009
• Disaster response 2008
• Disaster response 2007
• Previous years
• Tsunami: Four years on

Working towards a sustainable future

Providing relief such as shelter, food, water as well as trauma counselling is important in helping people, families and communities to start rebuilding their lives. It is crucial to move from emergency relief to sustainable development programs as soon as possible, to ensure that people affected by disaster can resume productive and dignified lives.  Disaster response is only one element of Caritas Australia’s work, which also has a strong focus on long-term development programs.

Building safer communities

A fierce cyclone that struck Fiji in late 2008 claimed lives and destroyed buildings, leaving communities devastated. One building that was extensively damaged was the Loreto Primary School. See how Caritas Australia helped the community to rebuild a safer school in the aftermath of the disaster and learn about disaster preparedness.

School kids help spread the message

See how school children have come together to help educate their community about disaster preparedness, after their school was destroyed by the cyclone.

These standards guide Caritas Australia in our disaster response work:
The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief
The Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response