Our emergency response work
When disaster strikes, our Animal Rescue Team is on the ground, delivering lifesaving care and critical supplies to animals and the communities that love them. Here are some example of recent animal rescue and disaster response:

Meredith Lee/The HSUS
Rapid animal search and rescue
During Hurricane Florence, our Animal Rescue Team waded through waist‑deep floodwaters in the Carolinas—working with local officials, the National Guard, and shelter partners—to save stranded pets and help transport hundreds of shelter animals out of harm’s way.

Photo by Nashville Humane Association
Animal transport and pet reunification support
In the wake of Alabama’s tornadoes, we helped senior pup Buster find safety and care—one example of how our partner‑powered network moves animals to where help is waiting, while communities recover.

Photo by Kevin Wolf/AP Images for the HSUS
Year-round disaster preparedness training in communities
Before Hurricane Florence hit, we moved hundreds of shelter pets out of harm’s way—freeing space for displaced family animals and staying ready for post‑storm rescues. It’s all part of our full‑cycle disaster relief work.

Sneha’s Care
Emergency grants to local shelters and other local partners
From hurricanes and floods to landslides and droughts, we've rescued tens of thousands of pets, farm animals, and wildlife by delivering on‑site medical aid, transporting animals to safety, reuniting families and providing critical supplies for local community organizations.

HSI
Lifesaving aid
Humane World for Animals and the Ukrainian Red Cross have collaborated to help more than 100,000 dogs, cats and other pets and 40,000 pet guardians in war-torn Ukraine. We have been working together to provide pet food, veterinary care and supplies for pets and support for their owners internally displaced or otherwise affected by the conflict.

Felipe Marquez
How Humane World is evolving our disaster response work to address extreme weather
Humane World for Animals is ramping up emergency preparedness efforts to prepare communities before extreme weather or disasters strike.
Animal Rescue Team in action
Our Animal Rescue Team works with law enforcement to investigate illegal animal cruelty. Every year we rescue thousands of animals from puppy mills, animal fighting operations, hoarders, and other situations where animals suffer from cruelty.
Some of our disaster deployments
Since 2005, our Animal Rescue Team has responded to disasters worldwide, working with local responders to help animals in the hardest-hit areas and fill resource gaps. Learn more about when and where we answer the call to help by reading our FAQ.

After Türkiye’s 2023 earthquakes, our teams and partners helped rescue, treat and reunite animals with their families—from field clinics in Antakya to heartwarming reunions like Rumeysa and her cat, Leyla—showing our global, on‑the‑ground disaster response in action.

With Hurricane Katrina, it was all hands on deck across our entire organization. As the plight of animals came into focus, with thousands of them trapped in homes and stranded in New Orleans and other communities, we moved as quickly as we could to meet the demands of the crisis.

When wildfires devastated Chile, our rescue teams delivered urgent care to animals suffering burns, smoke inhalation, and trauma. From pets to farmed animals, hundreds were saved. This is the power of global response in action.

When deadly tornadoes struck Mayfield, Kentucky, our rescue teams deployed immediately — working alongside locals to save pets in distress. From search and rescue to transport and care, we made sure animals weren’t overlooked amid the chaos.

When catastrophic floods and landslides hit India’s Assam and Wayanad regions, our team acted fast—delivering boat‑based relief where roads failed. Across two crises, we saved 10,000 animals and supported 2,250 families with vital supplies, medical care, and food distribution.

When the worst flooding in over 30 years struck Punjab, India, we collaborated with other animal protection organizations to distribute emergency food and veterinary medicine for farmed and companion animals.

In Kenya’s drought-stricken regions, communities and animals alike face a crisis. Our team partnered with local groups to deliver desperately needed water, feed farmed animals, care for pets, and support families on the front lines.
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Will your pets be protected?
Now's the time to create a disaster plan that includes all your animals, big and small. Learn how to build a pet emergency kit, identify safe evacuation options, know how to shelter in place and much more.
If it's not safe for you, it's not safe for your pets.

Felipe Marquez
VERACRUZ, Mexico — In response to devastating floods that have impacted five states across Mexico, leading animal protection organization Humane World for Animals (formerly called Humane Society...

Sneha’s Care
In recent weeks, our organization has answered the call to help animals and people displaced by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States and Hurricane John in Mexico, as well as disasters in
Help animals in emergency situations
We never know where disasters will strike or when animals may be in need of urgent rescue, but we know we must be ready. Your support makes our preparedness, rescue, care and relief work possible.
Anthony Rathbun/AP Images for the HSUS