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hurricane irma

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have passed, leaving trails of devastation and destruction in their wake. Recovery from both storms will take months, if not years, but around the world, everyday people are stepping up to help out friends, neighbors, and strangers however they can.

After Harvey, we collected a list of 11 examples of hurricane heroism. Now that both storms have run their course, here's a look at 16 more spectacular gestures of kindness. Each one is a testament to the generosity of the human spirit and a reminder that when bad things happen, there will always be ways we can help.


This photo shows people in Texas after Hurricane Harvey. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

1. A group of Syrian refugees living in Georgia delivered home-cooked meals to Irma evacuees.

They knew what it was like to need the help of others and just wanted to give back.

2. A group of helpful neighbors came to the rescue of one Ormond Beach, Florida, woman, saving her personal belongings from a collapsing house.

3. NBC's Kerry Sanders was reporting from Marco Island when he spotted another man helping two beached baby dolphins.

The dramatic rescue was caught on film.

4. Kimberly Gager of San Antonio put her extreme couponing skills to great use to help people who were hit by Hurricane Harvey.

She began saving coupons she would have ordinarily thrown away, using them to buy diapers, formula, and other baby supplies, which she donated.

5. Florida's Islamorada Beer Company got to work bottling water, raising money, and transporting supplies down to the Florida Keys to help people hit by Irma.

If the beer tastes a little watered down, that's because it is.

6. Mike and Kathy Merrill of Florida Urgent Rescue pulled double duty, helping save dogs displaced by both Harvey and Irma.

7. Blink-182's Mark Hoppus recorded a song called "Not Every Dog Goes to Heaven" for the ASPCA benefit album "Dog Songs."

Profits from the album will help the ASPCA save dogs affected by Hurricane Harvey. Rock on, Mark.

Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Turner Sports.

8. A collection of sailors and cruisers joined up to help islands hit by Irma. They call themselves Sailors Helping.

They're working in conjunction with local government and volunteer groups to facilitate immediate aid. In the long term, they're planning a Rally to Rebuild, in which hundreds of boaters will bring a habitat-for-humanity style armada of boats and volunteers to various islands hit by Hurricane Irma.

Image courtesy of Tory Fine/Sailors Helping.

9. Remember the heartwarming story about a man who gave up the last generator at a Florida store? When one became available later that day, the store's manager gave it to the generous stranger for free.

A good deed is its own reward, but this certainly helps too.

10. As Irma evacuees made their way out of Florida, one Georgia man decided to throw them a cookout.

Chad Harrison of Valdosta, Georgia, was a sight for sore eyes for hungry people fleeing Florida. In total, he was able to help feed around 2,000 evacuees.

11. A billionaire immigrant named Kieu Hoang donated $5 million to Harvey relief efforts, saying, "We are all American."

This might be one of the largest (if not the largest) individual donations anyone's made in response to the recent hurricanes.

12. Millionaire Marc Bell opened up his $30 million, 27,000-square-foot home to 70 foster kids affected by Irma.

Bell says he got a call from SOS Children's Village Florida with a request for help after they'd been kicked out of their shelters. Bell offered up his home.

13. Animal control, along with a few brave neighbors, helped rescue five dogs trapped in fire-ant-infested waters in Lakeland, Florida.

People helping people helping doggos are the best kind of people.

BREAKING UPDATE: Animal Control says they will rescue several dogs left alone during #HurricaneIrma. WFLA Melissa Marino is live with the update. https://bit.ly/2wVBLuA

Posted by WFLA News Channel 8 on Monday, September 11, 2017

14. Royal Caribbean cruise line sent two of its ships to Caribbean islands hit by Irma to help evacuees, and Norwegian Cruise Line sent a ship to St. Thomas packed with supplies.

After canceling numerous cruises due to the storm, the vacation companies had a bit of free time on their hands.

15. When Irma left a group of manatees stranded near Whitfield, Florida, a group of locals helped move the majestic sea cows back into the water.

Right on.

16. After taking home first place at the DreamHack Montreal Street Fighter V tournament, professional gamer Du Dang donated his $10,000 in winnings to Irma relief efforts.

Originally from Tampa, he wanted to give back to his hometown during its time of need.

It's easy to think of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma as being disasters that are now behind us, but the truth is that the real work is just beginning.

As the above examples demonstrate, there are a lot of really unique and creative ways to help out in the storms' aftermath. If you're looking for a way to get involved in the relief efforts, here's a great place to get started.

When Hurricane Irma approached the southeastern United States, there was a lot of doom and gloom going around.

The grave warnings of potential devastation and the wreckage the storm left in its wake were everywhere.


But for all the (perhaps rightfully) sensational coverage, there was little talk of the actual storm itself: where exactly Irma would make landfall, how strong it might be when it hit, and how the projections were changing on a minute-by-minute basis.

That's where local Mobile, Alabama TV weatherman Alan Sealls came in.

Sealls delivered a thorough and remarkably calm breakdown of the latest Irma models. For many on the internet, it was a much needed breath of fresh air.

"The models don't control the weather," he explained patiently to viewers. "That's the attempt to keep up with what's going on, calculate, and regenerate another projection."

In thorough yet simple terms, Sealls aggregated and explained each of the main models, or projections, of where Irma might go.

[rebelmouse-image 19531920 dam="1" original_size="617x327" caption="His gesturing was on point too. GIF via WKRG/YouTube" expand=1]His gesturing was on point too. GIF via WKRG/YouTube

"The storm itself hasn't really changed what it's doing," he said. "What's changed is our day-to-day assessment and projection."

The clip quickly spread far beyond Mobile. It made its way onto the front page of Reddit with the headline, "best weatherman ever."

An overnight hero, Sealls suddenly had a fan club millions strong. But why?

In what became a defining moment during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a distraught mother tore into a CNN reporter for sticking a microphone in her face during the most traumatic moment of her life. People online rallied behind the mom, and it became clear we were all hungry for a different kind of storm coverage.

Seall's report, while seemingly straightforward, was exactly what many people needed to hear.

Hurricane Irma was one of the strongest and most ominous storms we've seen. Anyone in the affected areas needed to take it extremely seriously.

But it's still inspiring to see millions of people (the clip on YouTube has over 3 million views as of this writing) coming together in appreciation of science and just-the-facts reporting.

Sealls is right — we can't control the weather. Sometimes when things are out of our hands, though, having a friendly expert with a soothing demeanor just level with you is the most comforting thing there is.

You can watch Sealls' full, viral, and incredibly educational weather report right here:

This post was updated 12/07/2017.