The Evolution of Disaster Relief: From Clara Barton to the Climate Crisis

By: Neil Brockway, Sr. Director, Disaster Risk Reduction

In September 1900, Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, undertook her final disaster relief mission following a catastrophic hurricane in Galveston, Texas. The storm claimed over 6,000 lives and left the city devastated. Clara’s journey from Washington D.C. to Galveston spanned eight days, hampered by the era’s limited communication and transportation — relying on trains and horse-drawn carriages.

Today, disaster relief has transformed.

Technological advancements allow for real-time notifications and rapid communication, while mass transit and global supply chains enable relief workers and supplies to mobilize across the country. Where initial response times once stretched to days or even weeks, today they are measured in minutes and hours. This has created a top-down response model that relies heavily on deploying people, supplies and equipment from across the country to deliver disaster relief. Sometimes, this massive influx of aid can unintentionally disrupt the efforts of small local community organizations helping respond to the needs of their neighbors.

The Rising Frequency of Disasters

The climate crisis is accelerating the frequency and intensity of disasters. So far this year, the United States experienced 24 separate billion-dollar disasters, a significant jump from the annual average of just three such events in the 1980s when adjusted for inflation. With each passing year, storms, floods, and wildfires are striking with increasing frequency and force, testing disaster response systems to a breaking point.

Regions once considered low-risk — such as the Great Lakes and Northeast — are now experiencing intensified storms and flooding, as seen when Hurricane Ida unleashed unprecedented rainfall across New York and New Jersey, resulting in over 40 deaths and billions of dollars in damage. The Great Lakes and Northeast were once considered key areas where volunteers could recruit to support more disaster-prone areas in the West or the South.

These changes raise critical questions: How do we adapt to this? Where do we pull resources from if even the lower risk areas are seeing an increase in disasters? And how do we prepare for a future in which climate-related disasters threaten to outstrip available resources for response and recovery?

Building Resilience by Strengthening Trusted Community Networks

To address the accelerating climate crisis, national relief organizations need to adjust and make room for local community leadership.

Preparing and empowering communities to drive their own response and recovery efforts is vital for building resilience.

This preparation must begin before disasters strike by identifying and enhancing established community resources — not creating new ones from scratch. By working with trusted local leaders and nonprofits, national organizations can bolster local capacity without overshadowing those who know their communities best. This collaborative approach reframes disaster-affected communities as active leaders rather than passive recipients of aid, enabling them to respond to local crises swiftly and effectively.

The American Red Cross recently demonstrated the success of this localized approach to building disaster resilience when Hurricane Milton made landfall in southwestern Florida on October 9, 2024.

Immediately after Milton made landfall, a new network of over 30 community partners mobilized hundreds of local relief workers to provide aid to people affected. Within just 120 hours of landfall, they distributed nearly 10,000 meals on top of thousands of relief items in historically underserved areas.

This success was made possible after the Red Cross established Lee and Sarasota counties as Community Adaptation Program (CAP) locations in 2023. Since then, locally hired CAP leaders have worked to create a network of hyper-local nonprofits and enhance each organization’s ability to support their community after disasters. In particular, the program focuses on increasing access to health, hunger and housing resources in disadvantaged communities.

This example shows that when communities are equipped with resources and training, plus deliberate support customized for local needs, small nonprofits can make a huge difference.

Planning for an Uncertain Future

Amid escalating climate-driven disasters, leaders in national disaster relief organizations must champion a future built on resilient, locally-empowered networks. Just as Clara Barton pioneered disaster response within the constraints of her time, today’s relief strategies must adapt to address the climate crisis with urgency and foresight.

This transformation requires intentional planning, cultural shifts and strategic approaches to ensure that when large organizations respond to disasters, their support amplifies — rather than overshadows — local community efforts.

Empowering trusted community organizations and strengthening local response capacity can transform disaster relief into a true partnership, putting communities in control of their own recovery and equipping them to face the unpredictable challenges of a rapidly changing world.