The crisis in Syria has now lasted approximately as long as World War I and II combined. But USAID is not forgetting the people at the heart of the crisis who are struggling to cope with 10 years lost to civil war.

It has been ten years since fighting broke out in Syria, leading to what has become one of the largest and most complex humanitarian emergencies of our time. As we reach this somber milestone, the numbers look even more grim. Syria’s prolonged conflict has left two-thirds of the country’s population in need. …

Ten years ago, the tectonic plates off the eastern coast of Japan shifted with a force so great, it moved the coastline of the country and changed the balance of the planet. The earthquake also set into motion a tsunami with waves several stories high that engulfed entire towns, took the lives of more than 20,000 people, and caused a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. See how USAID responded.

When the magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Japan, Sarah Potts was actually in a plane over the Pacific Ocean, flying home from Christchurch, New Zealand, where she had been…

On November 16, Hurricane Iota made landfall as a category 5 storm with sustained winds of nearly 155 mph. This comes just two weeks after Hurricane Eta brought heavy rains, severe flooding, and landslides to many of the same areas. An estimated 4.9 million people were affected by Hurricane Eta alone and more than 260,000 people across Latin America have sought the safety of evacuation shelters.

Here are four ways USAID is helping communities affected by Hurricanes Eta and Iota:

1. Deploying a Disaster Assistance Response Team

On November 3, Eta — the 28th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season — made landfall in Central America, unleashing heavy winds, rain, and severe flooding and landslides across the region. Thousands of people have been evacuated, and tens of thousands have been affected by the devastation.

Here are three ways we are responding to help communities across Central America affected by Tropical Storm Eta:

1. Activating disaster specialists across Central America

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake struck, not only did USAID help put a roof over the heads of people affected, we also worked with communities to build a new, more durable vision for their neighborhoods to withstand future disasters.

The word home conjures all sorts of meaning: family, friends, warmth, comfort. We think that the word shelter should mean more, too. After a disaster hits, shelter is typically identified as an immediate humanitarian need. But to us, shelter is more than four walls and a roof.

For years, USAID has worked with people affected by disasters to help them through…

Most of us will experience a devastating torrent once in our lifetime, or at worst only once a decade. But the odds are much greater in Bangladesh, where almost every year floods, cyclones, and landslides put vulnerable people at risk and force tens of thousands of people to flee to safety. This year was no exception, as historic floods covered over 40 percent of the country.

How do people cope when houses, livestock, and livelihoods are relentlessly and tragically swept away?

Unusually heavy rains have pounded Sudan in recent weeks, resulting in widespread flooding that has killed more than 100 people, forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, and affected more than 800,000 people across the country.

The waters of the mighty Nile — so famous for its seasonal flooding — swelled to the highest level in decades, washing out homes and neighborhoods. Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum, was especially hit hard.

As images…

We recognize the real-life heroes who are overcoming Herculean challenges to save lives and help those in need, all around the world.

Never has the generosity, courage, and sacrifice of aid workers been more evident — or more needed — than it is today. On top of the millions of people who are in need of humanitarian aid due to conflicts or natural disasters, the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United States is leading the global response efforts to this unprecedented outbreak, providing more than $1.6 billion in health, humanitarian, economic, and development assistance in more than…