Warm, dry and where/how to donate to help Hurricane Harvey victims

Good Morning Augusta

This morning we have sunshine with an expected high of 71 ºF. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight we’ll have some clouds with a low of 49 ºF. Winds will be light and variable.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Humidity is 58%, the Dew Point is 42ºF and the outdoor temp is 55.6ºF.

The wind direction is  West between 3.4 MPH and 4.9 MPH, with a heat index of 55.6ºF.

The Relative pressure is 30.00, the Absolute pressure is 29.80 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun.

The UV rating is 2 out of 16, Sunrise is 6:03 a.m. Sunset is 7:13 P.M. Moon rise is 5:13 p.m., Moon set is 2:11 a.m., and the moon phase is waxing gibbous being 86% illuminated.

The RAW METAR readings from Augusta’s airport are:

METAR KAUG 021153Z AUTO 29007KT 10SM CLR 11/04 A3017 RMK AO2 SLP218 T01110044 10111

Visibility is 10.0 Miles / 16.1 kilometers with clear skies for the time being.

 We didn’t receive any rain here over the past 24 hours.

Space Weather for this morning is:

Today’s Solar flux is 74, the solar wind speed is 586 Kilometers per second and the chance of a solar storm is 1%.

I am not posting any recipe today.  Instead I’m posting some web links that you can use to choose one of many charities to donate money to for the ppurpose of helping the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

I urge you to exercise EXTREME caution when doing this.  Scammers, con artists, vultures and the jackals who prey on those who are already desperate are out in full force at times like these.

Research any and all charities before donating to them.

Beyond that, you also need to make the judgement call of what kind of charity to donate to, National, or local to Texas.  Some things to consider are these:  National charities will certainly help out victims of Hurricane Harvey, but they are also going to help out the victims of other natural disasters in other parts of the country.  This is not a bad thing by any means, but some people want to donate only to local, in-state charitable organizations to make sure their dollars are used local to the disaster, and nowhere else.

I can understand both viewpoints and encourage both.

I lived in Florida for more than 30 years and have survived 3 severe hurricanes.  In my experience, depending only on organizations like FEMA and the Red Cross is perhaps not the best strategy.  Also, try to remember your homeowners insurance.  While insurance companies have, at times, gotten a bad rap during disasters (some of it well deserved), they are going to be buried with pleas for immediate claim filings and covered relief. They may have a lot of resources, but their job is insurance coverage, not disaster relief, and they’re going to be very busy.

No matter which charity you choose to donate to, check them out first, and do your best to see if, for example, the State Attorney General’s office has any bad reports on them.  No matter what, help out if you can.

The biggest problems that victims will face after the national media has moved on to other stories arise when the  disaster relief agencies begin to heap mounds of paperwork on the victims. Most of that paperwork can’t be filled out properly because much of the information needed to do so has been destroyed. 

The bottom line is that his relief effort will be ongoing to more than a year.  Please help out if you can.

Some resources to consider are:

The American Red Cross web site to donate to help victims of Hurricane Harvey:

http://www.redcross.org/?scode=RSG00000E017&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiqTNBRDVARIsAGsd9MoWMUoAO2zcbOpH2PjpCnLW7zSVZqXeRwnX_A3wfbGo6ao5dwZLMqsaApO8EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CIruyd2ChdYCFUKtTwod6bACmg

 

On the other hand, you can take the “scatter gun” approach to researching charities in Texas by using websites like this one:

http://www.zapmeta.com/ws?q=charities%20in%20texas&asid=zm_us2_010_002&mt=b&nw=g&de=c&ap=1o2

 

Read up on the issue as a whole by reading this article.  I may help put things into perspective.

“Where to Donate to Harvey Victims (and How to Avoid Scams)” https://nyti.ms/2wd4ACc

Thank you.