Disaster Relief
Drawing on Mike Bloomberg’s experience in dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy as Mayor of New York City in 2012, Bloomberg Philanthropies is committed to assisting disaster relief efforts wherever possible.
U.S. Virgin Islands
In September 2017, the U.S. Virgin Islands suffered two devastating Category 5 Hurricanes within 12 days of each other. Bloomberg Philanthropies stepped in immediately, maintaining on-the-ground staff, importing critical resources, evacuating medical patients, and setting up a temporary clinic. We sponsored a daily shuttle from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay, brought in tractors to help remove debris from roadways, and sent disaster experts to the Islands, creating a model for innovative rebuilding.
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Resilience Toolkits
Bloomberg Philanthropies and its partners publish toolkits to prepare for and respond to disasters that can be replicated elsewhere. This includes the Disaster Resilience Toolkit: Supporting America’s Southern Rural Communities with a focus on how local leaders must reevaluate how they protect their communities; and the Resilience Task Force Toolkit, a Government Official’s Guide to Managing Resilience Transformation, outlining the steps needed to conduct a resilience effort in a city, state, or country.
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Top photo: Mike Bloomberg joined volunteers including Bloomberg L.P. co-founder Tom Secunda in the U.S. Virgin Islands to deliver supplies following the devastation of the hurricanes in 2017.