At 4:24 a.m. local time on January 7, Puerto Rico was hit by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake along its southern coast—the strongest in a string of escalating seismic activity that started on December 28. The quake triggered safety mechanisms at power plants in the area, where the majority of the island’s power generation capacity is …
Typhoon Phanfone made landfall in Eastern Samar of the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines at 4:45 p.m. local time Tuesday, December 24. A Category 2 typhoon, Phanfone ultimately affected more than 2.1 million people and displaced more than 145,000. Heavy rains and strong winds damaged some 406,000 homes and 30 health facilities, and brought …
What connects us? No matter where we come from or who we are, we are bound together as humans across space and time. We are a tapestry woven throughout this wild and beautiful earth, made up of disparate and diverse pieces that, when viewed from afar, merge into one unified image. From the most privileged …
Dr. Janice Edwards will never forget how she felt when Hurricane Dorian ravaged her hometown on Grand Bahama island while she was 130 miles away in Nassau, nervously awaiting news of her family and friends who stayed behind. “I’m so proud of the strength of our people.” –Dr. Janice Edwards-Rowlands Hurricane Dorian slammed into the …
“I’m okay…” says Joe Tate, his statement trailing off like a question. “Well, my body’s strong,” he clarifies. “But my head and my heart…” Those two things are more complicated. But they’re the things that hurt the most. We encounter Joe in McLeans Town, a small and tightly knit community that our International Medical Corps …
Five years into one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world, South Sudan is faced with yet another challenge: Ebola. With a healthcare system in ruins, the country—which shares a long and porous border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—needs to prepare for the worst. Medical interventions, however effective, won’t be …
It’s not often that a physician in the midst of a seven-year neurosurgery residency deploys on a humanitarian response mission. But Myron Rolle says he put his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on a brief hold to join an emergency response by International Medical Corps in the Bahamas to care for survivors of …
They climbed up trees and into attics. They stayed afloat in rising water for hours, even days, on end. They don’t remember it all—but what they do remember, they wish they could forget. These are the survivors of Hurricane Dorian, the worst storm to hit the Bahamas in recorded history. Most people got to higher …
“It was so beautiful here you couldn’t believe it,” says William. “We lived here and we couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.” He says this while standing in front of a boat submerged in what used to be his front yard. Over his head, the remains of his ravaged beachfront house droop against a stunning …