Disaster Support & Trainings

Philanthropic Preparedness Resiliency and Emergency Partnership (PPREP)

Central Kansas Community Foundation continues to participate with a group of 21 community foundations from 10 Midwest states in the Philanthropic Preparedness Resiliency and Emergency Partnership (PPREP) sponsored by The Funders’ Network of Coral Gables, Florida. PPREP is about strengthening the relationships between community members and organizations to maximize their impact in preparing for and recovering from disasters.

Over our four-year partnership with this group CKCF has greatly increased our awareness of and investment in disaster philanthropy.  Most recently, the knowledge we built as a part of this cohort guided us in the process of grant-making mid-year of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthened our ability to assist the Harvey County Commission in management of the CARES Act funding for Harvey County.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently released information regarding climate disasters of 2020, and the following is from their website:

It was an extraordinary year for weather and climate events in the U.S.: The nation endured an unprecedented 22 billion-dollar disasters in 2020.

A record number of named tropical storms formed in the Atlantic, with a record 12 making landfall. The nation also had its most active wildfire year on record due to very dry conditions in the West and unusually warm temperatures that gripped much of the country.

Here’s a recap of the climate and extreme weather events across the U.S.in 2020, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Climate by the numbers
Billion-dollar disasters in 2020

Last year, the U.S. experienced a record-smashing 22 weather and climate disasters that killed at least 262 people and injured scores more:

• 1 wildfire event (Western wildfires focused across California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington)
• 1 drought and heatwave event (summer/fall across Western and Central U.S.)
• 3 tornado outbreaks (including the Nashville tornado and Easter outbreak)
• 7 tropical cyclones (Hanna, Isaias, Laura, Sally, Delta, Zeta and Eta); and
• 10 severe weather events (including the Midwest derecho and Texas hail storms)

Damages from these disasters exceeded $1 billion each and totaled approximately $95 billion for all 22 events.

Damages from these disasters exceeded $1 billion each and totaled approximately $95 billion for all 22 events.