Welcome

Just a week and a half ago, Hurricane Irene worked her way up the east coast, leaving devastation in her wake. Millions were left without power to face flooding, damaged roads, and destroyed homes. From the Carolinas, up through New York, and even into Vermont, this storm has crippled communities.

In the past, the writing community has worked together to raise funds for a variety of causes. Knowing how gracious and giving this community is, we are hoping that we can once again rally together and raise money for the areas affected by one of the worst hurricanes the east coast has seen in decades.

Starting Monday, we will be hosting an auction featuring a variety of fabulous industry-related items (books, arcs, critiques, etc). We hope you come back and bid on some of them!

In the meantime, please help us spread the word! Tweet about Read for Relief and follow us on Twitter. Stick one of our glorious badges in your blog's sidebar. Maybe you even have a book or critique or something similar to donate to the auction. If so, please read more about how to Give an Auction Item and then fill out our donation form.

We'll see you back here in a few days!

The Effects of Hurricane Irene

In late August 2011, Hurricane Irene swept over the Caribbean and up the U.S. East Coast, leaving extensive wind and flood damage in its wake. Early damage estimates have climbed above $7 billion in the United States alone.

Although cities like Washington, D.C. and New York City were spared from the heaviest devastation, towns across New England and the Mid-Atlantic were hit hard with flash floods and landslides. New York farmers lost over $45 million in crops, and states like Vermont and New Jersey experienced the worst flooding in decades.

Below, we have compiled photographs that hopefully capture the weight of this storm and why we have decided to hold this auction for hurricane relief.

A woman walks on the remains of Highway 12, the route that connected Cape Hatteras National Seashore to the North Carolina mainland. (Image courtesy of Buzzfeed.com)

A view of Main Street in Margaretville, NY. (Image courtesy of Buzzfeed.com)

The Stinson family sits on the steps of their Nags Head cottage in North Carolina. Built in 1903, their house was swept away during the hurricane. (Image courtesy of Buzzfeed.com)

The Wells Memorial Library in Upper Jay, New York lost its entire collection of picture books during Hurricane Irene. (Image courtesy of Kate Messner)

In Fleischmanns, New York, a bridge was destroyed after Hurricane Irene caused surging waters on the Delaware River. (Image courtesy of Monika Graff/Getty Images) 

A week after the hurricane, homes still sat submerged in Bloomingdale, New Jersey. (Image courtesy of AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Destroyed roads and downed trees in Killington, VT (Image courtesy of Buzzfeed.com)

 

A before and after of Bartsonville, Vermont's historic covered bridge, which was lost to raging waters (Image courtesy of Buzzfeed.com)

If you would like to read more about the damage that Hurricane Irene brought, then please feel free to browse through the following articles: 

"Irene: Deaths, Flooding, Power Losses State by State" from Bloomberg.com

"Flooding, Power Failures, Rainfall and Damage from Hurricane Irene" from NYTimes.com