The world has felt the force of mother nature in recent months. Hurricane Harvey devastated vast swathes of southern American and then Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico shortly after. Regarded as the worst natural disaster on record in Dominica, the hurricane which struck on the 20th September, has caused $90 billion in damages across the Caribbean island. As with any natural disaster of this kind, the impact on the citizens who were caught in the storm is staggering. Whilst the death toll is not yet certified, and remains frozen at 45, we're aware that nearly 90 per cent of the island remains without power. And as NBC reports, it could take up to half a year to restore electricity. Additionally, much of the island's 3.4 million residents are in need of proper shelter and clean drinking water. And this problem, despite relief efforts from numerous countries, has not yet been rectified. As such, high-profile celebrities and the general public have found themselves moved by the plight of those affected by Hurricane Maria, and have been donating as generously as they can to the cause. The latest being none other than Friends star, Jennifer Aniston, who made a generous donation of $1 million. Aniston is reported to have made a donation of $500,000 (£376,000) to the American Red Cross disaster relief services in Puerto Rico. On top of that, she also donated the same amount to the Ricky Martin Foundation. This all adds up to $1 million (£752, 000), according to E! News. The American Red cross has launched a multi-island relief effort in conjunction with Puerto Rican government officials and other disaster partners in order to kick-start the arduous recovery process. Likewise, the Ricky Martin Foundation has pledged to help the survivors of Hurricane Maria, aiming to restore some sense of normality in its aftermath. A source spoke to E! News about Aniston's donation, saying: "She is concerned that so much is still needed to be done for the victims of these recent hurricanes, especially Puerto Rico where there is still no power to most of the island. She hopes this inspires others to give what they can." Puerto Rico native, singer and actor, Ricky Martin also acknowledged Aniston's donation. He took to Twitter to write,  "Jennifer Aniston U R amazing Thanx 4 donating $500k for our #PuertoRico relief fund We will never forget. U R saving lives Jenn #Allin4PR." Scheduled to depart from San Juan in Puerto Rico, Adventure of the Seas is remaining docked, and will also visit St Thomas and St Croix in the US Virgin Islands to offer assistance. They plan to deliver supplies, provide evacuees with shelter and will transport victims to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BZj3L0jBtbW/]] Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Maria.

Devastation was brought to Puerto Rico as a category four hurricane made landfall, a disaster that took down the country's power grid, leaving millions without access to electricity, water, or communications. It has been reported that at least 16 people have died so far, with many more injured. Recovery attempts could take more than a decade to complete, with the island's infrastructure in desperate need of support and rebuilding. "We have not experienced an event of this magnitude in our modern history," Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló stated, as the island tries to come to terms with what has happened. Many journalists and residents have captured the staggering events in words, but photographers have also brought to light heartbreaking glimpses into the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

1. Flooded street in San Juan

2. Dogs in flooded house in Cantano

3. Woman surveys damage to her home

4. Crowds collecting water from a natural spring created by landslides

5. Collecting possessions from their destroyed home

6. Aerial photo of the flooded town of Loiza

7. Supermarket line in San Juan

8. Mother comforts daughter at church service following the hurricane

9. Overflow from the Guajataka River Dam

10. A man cycles cycles along damaged road in Toa Alta

11. Woman washes clothing at an open road drainage

12. Felled trees cover the roads in San Juan

Help has been slow to come to the communities of Puerto Rico that have been greatly affected by the tropical storm. The U.S. government has assured its citizens that billions of dollars are being committed to federal assistance. Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy, and hope that the recovery efforts are successful.

As devastating bushfires tear through Australia, people around the globe are doing their bit to help the crisis, which last week, was declared a state of emergency.

Whether it's donating to large scale fundraisers like the one established by comedian Celeste Barber, or making large one-off donations like the $500,000 given to the cause by singer Pink and actress Nicole Kidman respectively.

However, one social media influencer has come up with an innovative and highly successful way to help: selling snaps of herself in nothing but her birthday suit. Now, Kaylen Ward has raised over $100,000 for the cause and counting after beginning the initiative two days ago.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Twitter]]

Taking to Twitter, she wrote: "I’m sending nudes to every person who donates at least $10 to any one of these fundraisers for the wildfires in Australia. Every $10 you donate = one nude picture from me to your DM. You must send me confirmation that you donated. Please RT #AustraliaOnFire #AustraliaFires"

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/B67WaxFliSV/]]

The model revealed that she had previously sold revealing pics for money and hoped that her regular customers would go into their pockets for the good cause. However, within minutes of posting the tweet, she was inundated with requests.

[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/B67X3hclKgX/]]

The Texas native, who now lives in Los Angels, revealed that she has now had more than 20,000 requests for pictures and is sending each person a unique photo of her baring all.

This woman risked her life to save a koala from the wildfire: 

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/8eDpop6B-Q0L14jDU.mp4||8eDpop6B]]

Like so many people, Ward was moved by the harrowing images of the wildfires and the devastation they have caused, in particular, to animals.

In an interview with the MailOnline, she said: "It's devastating and any normal person would be concerned and want to help."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/lilearthangelk/status/1211432843777314816]]

When Ward began the initiative, she expected it to raise a few thousand dollars, however, she has now estimated that in one day, she has helped raise AU$100,000.

She said: "Someone sent me $5,000, so I’m sending 50 pics and videos."

The kind gesture has come at a personal cost, though, with Ward revealing: "My IG got deactivated, my family disowned me, and the guy I like won’t talk to me all because of that tweet. But f**k it, save the koalas."

[[twitterwidget||[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/lilearthangelk/status/1213713839155486721]]]]

However, despite Ward's good intentions, some people have been trying to take advantage of the offer for free nudes. Ward shared: "The fact that two people used the same photo to fake a donation is so disgusting. If you’re that broke that you can’t donate $10 to a good cause to literally save a burning country but instead scam me out of a free nude, you’re the lowest of the low."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/lilearthangelk/status/1213295911775997953]]

If you would like to help those affected by the wildfires, you can donate to the relief and recovery efforts being made by the Red Cross here, and you can assist the animal victims by donating to WIRES here.

More donation information for the fire departments battling the blazes can be found below:

How you can donate:

The NSW Rural Fire Service has multiple options for direct donations. You can donate to the RFS as a whole, or to specific brigades. You can donate through bank transfer, credit card or cheque.

For bank transfers, there is a set bank account (Account Name: NSW Rural Fire Service, BSB: 032-001, Account No: 171051). This account is for the RFS as a whole.

 This link will take you to the landing page for credit card donations. You can donate to the RFS general fund or choose specific brigades from the dropdown box.

In Queensland, Fire and Rescue advise that you can donate both money and items through the website givit.org.au. The website allows fire-affected communities to list what they specifically need, from water tanks in Yeppoon to school uniforms in Zillmere.

In Victoria, the Country Fire Authority has two bank accounts - one for specific brigades and one for the general fund.

In South Australia, the Country Fire Service accepts donations through the CFS Foundation. You can donate to them here. You can also leave a bequest.

If you cannot find the particular brigade you are looking for, you can contact them directly.

Millions of people in Puerto Rico woke up to a grim new reality last week, after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, demolishing homes and destroying lives. It is being reported that it could take a half a year to restore power to the island, which is home to 3.5 million people, after all electricity was knockout overnight. The storm has been blamed for 18 fatalities, but that figure is expected to rise as the authorities begin the cleanup mission. Roads in cities such as San Juan resembled rivers rather than pedestrian streets and Carmen Yulin Cruz, the Mayor of the city, said the destruction was unlike anything she had ever seen. "The San Juan that we knew yesterday is no longer there," Cruz told MSNBC. "We're looking at 4 to 6 months without electricity." The storm was a mixture of heavy rain and fierce winds, toppling over trees, shattering windows and ripping roofs and doors off of buildings in the process. Widespread flooding has caused many highways and streets to be blocked across the island, creating maze-like conditions for drivers who were trying to navigate their way through the island. The economically strained island is now looking for all the help it can get in order to aid its recovery, and luckily a few major celebrities have joined in to offer their hands (and assets) to the cause. Pitbull, a rapper who hails from Puerto Rico, has offered his private jet to the island in order to transfer cancer patients who were undergoing chemo from Puerto Rico and to the United States, where they can carrying on undergoing their treatment. Jesse Gonzalez, a congresswoman for Puerto Rico tweeted her thanks to the artist. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Jenniffer2012/status/912762190238711808]] "Thanks to singer @pitbull for lending private plane to transfer cancer patients from Puerto Rico to the United States so that they can take their chemo." Pitbull hadn't gone public with his good deed, but did say to E! News, "Thank God we're blessed to help. Just doing my part." However, Pitbull isn't the only celebrity to help the Island, Jennifer Lopez is also getting involved. During a press conference with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Lopez announced that she will be making a $1million donation to hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. The singer took to her Instagram on Friday to say that she hadn't heard from her family on the island after the recent storm, saying: [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BZeKWStlhvW/?taken-by=jlo]] "What's foremost in my mind and many others, is trying to figure out the best way to help," Lopez said. "Our island of Puerto Rico has been hit by the two most devastating hurricanes we've ever seen Irma and Maria. Today, Puerto Rico needs our help. I urge you to support and donate to the efforts(UnitedforPuertoRico.com) of the first lady of Puerto Rico, Beatriz Rosselló. Together we can help rebuild our island and the Caribbean." Daddy Yankee, the man behind the smash-hit "Despacito" has also offered to donate $1million to "rebuild the island". Again, posting on Instagram, the singer said: [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BZhBt9NgKvg/?taken-by=daddyyankee]] "Puerto Rico is under a humanitarian crisis," he said today on Instagram. "We're running out of food, we're running out of provisions, we're running out of gas, we're running out of medicines. So this is a call to action to the international community to act now. We need your help more than ever." It's good to see celebrities like Pitbull and others getting involved in a humanitarian crisis. The rapper calls himself Mr Worldwide and it does seem like he is a man of the people.

Whenever there are natural disasters, there's always some tough guy out there who says they could survive easily, with no help rom the government. I remember some choice Yahoo! Answers comments where some libertarians said they would just pitch up a tent, start a fire, and survive any kind of disaster. People who have trouble in hurricanes, they claim, just aren't trying hard enough. That tough-guy-ism runs wild among older men and survivalist-types. So what about wrestlers? What about the legendary Hulk Hogan? Well, believe it or not, he had some of those ideas to express a few days ago. He's just sick of all the 'complaining' from people without food, water or electricity. He made some controversial comments about Hurricane Irma two days ago, in a couplet of now-deleted Tweets. It seems he realized how silly they sounded, and promptly deleted them to avoid backlash. "No water, no power, crybabies, everyone's complaining, these people have no clue how bad it could be, Praying for those that got hit hard, lost" -September 14th "Homes, lives, businesses, lost everything, thank you God for helping those with divine highly blessings, God speed only love HH" -September 14th True, it could be worse. You could be dead or lose your house entirely. But living without water or electricity is pretty debilitating. What do you drink? How do you get help? Better have a lantern. Anyone who's surviving a hurricane is definitely not being a 'crybaby'. Living without water or electricity would get old fast. One fan said this: “60,000 homes without power here, haven’t seen a crybaby yet, just people helping their neighbors. and what are you doing to help?” It seems that Hogan himself took damage to one of his houses in the hurricane. Since then, Hogan seems to have simmered down, and come to his senses: [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/HulkHogan/status/908889535316156416]] Of course, the famous wrestler destroyed an entire media company last year. With the help of Silicon Valley arch-wizard and lawyer Peter Thiel, he literally sued Gawker.com into bankruptcy and ended them. How? Well, they published a sex tape involving Hogan without his consent, which seems like a pretty crappy thing to do. Still, it's kind of insane that a wrestler can shut down an entire media outlet over one accident. I'll be sure not to criticize Hogan too much here, lest he summon Thiel to take me down. Hulk Hogan is pretty much a walking meme. But a walking meme can shut down media companies if he has enough cash. It's a test of wealth against freedom of the press. Of course, it's probably best not to post sex tapes without peoples' consent. Let's hope Hulk Hogan is donating some money or out there helping with the Irma recovery fund. I'm sure he is, paddling around out there, reaching into the waters and sweeping up rescue kittens... If you just need more Hogan in your life, check out this article about the hilarious time he started Tweeting about his hangover, whining about his headache, brother.