But what most of these people don't realize is that spontaneous volunteers without specific training and no affiliation can actually cause more problems than they alleviate in a disaster situation. Consider this:

• In many post-disaster situations, there is NO food, shelter, services or gas to spare for volunteers. Many volunteers going into the Philippines, Pakistan, Haiti, Japan, even the Gulf Coast states in the USA after Katrina or states affected by Sandy, had to be absolutely self-sustaining for many, many days, even many weeks. No shelter or safety measures could be provided to these volunteers by the government. Those volunteers who weren't self-sustaining created big problems.

• Just because you have some equipment does not mean you are ready to volunteer: inexperienced people have been killed using chain saws after hurricanes and other disasters, by falling limbs and live electrical wires, during their DIY clean up efforts. Responding to these people when they get themselves into a jam takes away from the needs of local people.

• In disaster situations, you are going to be encountering disaster victims. They are going to be stressed, maybe desperate, and maybe angry. As a trained volunteer or paid staff member working with a credible organization, you are going to know how to comfort these people and direct them to where they can get assistance, and how to convince them that you have to save this person over here instead of their relative over there. You need to know how to not re-traumatize them with questions or comments. If you are untrained and unaffiliated, you may become a target of their anger, because you cannot provide them with appropriate assistance, or because you provide them with incorrect information.

• In many disaster situations, volunteers must be mentally and physically prepared to work 16 hour days (or more) in highly-stressful situations where their own basic needs (like going to the bathroom) must be kept to a minimum. They may have to live in austere conditions, sleeping in a tent (that they must bring themselves) or a gymnasium with dozens, even hundreds, of other people, and using a very rustic latrine. And what happens if you get to the situation and discover you cannot handle what's happening around you, such as a riot, or a medical situation, or an armed group that shows up to rob you, or an illness of your own? Volunteers who show up, unaffiliated, untrained and not self-sufficient get in the way rather than helping, and take precious resources from those who have been devastated in a disaster situation.

• Spontaneous volunteers also may not familiar with the concepts of situation assessments, incident management or chain of command. These three skills are essential in disaster situations, to ensure that resources get where they are needed as quickly as possible, rescues and relief efforts go to the most needed, efforts aren't duplicated in one area while another area has absolutely nothing, etc. They must understand cultural and legal boundaries, and accept supervision. Gaining these skills comes from previous training with a credible organization specifically regarding disaster response.

• What will you do when you are accused of stealing from someone? Of harming someone? Of making a situation worse? What do you know about local customs and cultural taboos that, if you violate them, could taint all outside volunteer efforts? Abroad, aid workers have been arrested, even killed, because of cultural missteps. Who will navigate local bureaucracies in a foreign countries to save YOU in such situations?

• There's also a problem with people showing up at disaster sites under the guise of wanting to volunteer, but who are actually there to take advantage of unattended houses and shops, or even to exploit disaster victims, taking what few resources they may have and even harming them physically. To ensure the safety of victims, disaster organizations need volunteers who have already been screened and trained -- two things that can't be done during the disaster itself but, rather, need to have been done months earlier.

• Duplication of efforts can get out-of-control during disaster response. I've seen many people online saying they are creating an instant volunteer matching service to get people who want to help connected with people who need help, not realizing that there are already volunteer matching services and that volunteers with no training, interacting with mentally or emotionally-unstable people can lead to not-so-nice outcomes.

• Note that many of the aforementioned warnings are applicable to the home quarantines that resulted from COVID-19 - epidemics and pandemics are also disasters, and careful volunteer responses are also necessary, because many home bound people are vulnerable, being targeted by people claiming to be volunteers but aren't, etc.

• In traveling to other countries, volunteers need visas and documents that affirm their expertise. You can't simply show up at the border and announce that you are a doctor, for instance. The government does not have time to determine if you are who you say you are.

• Be sure to affiliate with existing voluntary organization before coming to the disaster area, and that organization has been asked to respond.
• Wait until it is safe to travel to volunteer sites and opportunities have been identified.
• Once assigned a position, make sure you have been given an assignment and are wearing proper safety gear for the task.

Disasters are incredibly complicated situations that require people with a very high degree of qualifications and long-term commitment, not just good will, a sense of urgency and short-term availability.

Also, more and more agencies are hiring local people, even immediately after a disaster, to clean rubble, remove dead bodies, build temporary housing, rebuild homes and essential buildings, and prepare and distribute food. Hiring local people to do these activities, rather than bringing people in from the outside, helps stabilize local people's lives much more quickly!

The priority in post-disaster situations is helping the people affected by the disaster, NOT giving spontaneous, unaffiliated volunteers an outlet for their desire to help.

Heard about DYI volunteer efforts in Haiti?? My blog talks about when DIY efforts work and how, usually, it's still a bad idea. When does it work? When the DIY volunteers have been to the country before, have established relationships with local agencies or local community leaders, have coordinated efforts in the country previously, and have many, many years of experience in post-conflict or post-disaster situations.

People outside of disaster zones also want to start gathering supplies from family, neighbors and co-workers, envisioning themselves packing up the boxes of supplies and some organization somewhere paying to ship those boxes to post-disaster zones. But it is so much cheaper and more efficient for response agencies to buy and ship these items from areas that are MUCH closer to an affected area that most (all?) agencies refuse these items. It's also better for relief agencies to buy clothing, shoes, medicine, toiletries, etc. new, or to accept donations in bulk directly from manufacturers and retailers, rather than going through donations made by countless numbers of individuals, which are filled with inappropriate items (expired food and medicine, clothes that aren't clean or aren't culturally-appropriate, broken items, etc.).

If you have been moved by a disaster to help in some way immediately, please consider donating financially to the American Red Cross (you can identify the local chapter in or nearest a disaster area if you want to give directly - this is very easy to do online): money is usually desperately needed to purchase and transport food, up-to-date medicine, and create shelter, as well as to employ local people so that they can recover as quickly as possible. Animals are often the forgotten victims in disasters - dogs, cats, other pets, horses and other livestock are often left behind after a disaster, or become lost, or aren't allowed in a human shelter, and many face starvation or death from injuries - so also look online for local humane societies, local ASPCAs, and other animal shelters and animal welfare agencies, as they are immediately desperate for help after disaster situations. In addition to giving funds yourself, you can help by making sure friends and associates know how to give (you might be surprised how many people don't know where or how to). A simple link on your own site or blog, a link at the end of your emails, an update on your status on FaceBook or whatever, telling people how to donate financially, can be a huge help.

Also, please do NOT start gathering food, clothing, medicine, toys, furniture or whatever for those affected in a disaster zone. DO NOT DO THIS. Unless you have called an organization in an affected area (a homeless shelter, an animal shelter, a hotel, whatever) and spoken to someone who told you EXACTLY what they need, by what date, and you have arranged transportation to get it there (do NOT expect the organization to come pick it up!), do NOT gather items to send to a disaster area. Here's more about Donating Things Instead of Cash or Time (In-Kind Contributions).

Also see How to Make a Difference Internationally/Globally/in Another Country Without Going Abroad

And see this page with advice on Creating or Holding a Successful Fund Raising Event.

Lonely Planet Volunteer: A Traveller's Guide to Making a Difference Around