When disaster strikes, the first ‘72 Golden Hours’ often decide the fate of entire communities. At Sewa International USA, we believe that ‘sewa’ (selfless service) is most impactful when it is fast, focused, and collaborative.

To explore how we can respond better, we hosted a Policy Cafe on ‘Disaster and the First 72 Hours’, bringing together a global panel of experts from the U.S. and beyond. The goal was to capture the lessons from the field and strengthen collective readiness for future emergencies.

The discussion began with a simple question:
What really happens in the first 72 hours?

Experts described it as a time when “everything happens at once”. As Euan Crawshaw, emergency response specialist serving as the Director of International Programmes at ShelterBox, shared, responders face intense pressure, high expectations, and limited information, often while key systems, such as communication, transport, and administration, are disrupted. In these moments, waiting for perfect assessments isn’t an option. Action guided by experience, adaptability, and trust becomes critical.

In this chaotic environment, priorities shift rapidly from broad planning to immediate human needs. Early efforts focus on stabilising conditions and restoring coordination, but attention quickly turns to what allows families to regain a sense of security amid uncertainty. Relief is about more than food or medical aid; it starts with a safe and stable space where people can begin to process shock and trauma.

A key highlight of the conversation was the role of ‘shelter’ during the early hours of a disaster.

Mario Flores ,Director of International Field Operations, Housing Disaster Resilience and Recovery at Habitat for Humanity International, emphasised that shelter is far more than a physical structure; it is about dignity. Immediate shelter prevents mass displacement, reduces long-term risks, and especially protects women and children. Keeping families close to their homes and social networks in those first three days lays the psychological and physical foundation for a faster, safer recovery.

But shelter and dignity can only exist if essential resources reach affected communities. This is where logistics takes center stage. Valerio Carafa, an emergency management specialist at ISRA AID, called logistics the heartbeat of response. Supply chains support every lifesaving intervention from shelter to healthcare to food. When they work, communities get aid in hours; when they fail, recovery is delayed by weeks.

One insight that stood out was the central role NGOs play during the first 72 hours. The conversation emphasized that early response works best when efforts are coordinated and rooted in community realities. NGOs, with their close ties to local contexts, help ensure that support reaches people quickly and meaningfully, especially during those crucial early moments. As Stephen Klein, Chief Executive Officer at NECHAMA: Jewish Response to Disaster noted, these non-profit organizations don’t struggle with bureaucratic delays like a government, and can act with the speed and flexibility that emergencies demand. Their greatest strength, however, is in empowering local communities. By investing in training, preparedness, and coordination long before a crisis, nonprofits professionalize the first line of defense, enabling communities to lead their own recovery.

The Policy Cafe concluded with a shared insight: disaster response is not only about speed or supplies. It is about people, trust, and preparedness built long before a crisis. The first 72 hours expose the fragile gap between intention and impact, policy and practice. A thoughtful early response can protect dignity, reduce displacement, and lay the foundation for long-term resilience.

For Sewa International USA, this conversation was both an affirmation and a call to action: building resilient communities isn’t just a moment of response; it is a continuous commitment to readiness, collaboration, and service.