Natural disasters cause enormous animal suffering through direct injury, displacement, starvation, and disease. Improving emergency preparedness and response for both companion animals and livestock saves lives and reduces suffering.
Disaster preparedness is a welfare intervention that saves animal lives before emergencies occur. The single most impactful preparation is a household emergency plan that includes animals -- pet carriers, food supplies, and identification microchipping that enables reunification. At the policy level, emergency management frameworks that include animals lead to better evacuation compliance and reduced animal suffering. For farm animals, emergency planning is largely absent despite the enormous scale of potential suffering.