When a disaster strikes, people look first to their own communities and governments for help, and second, to neighbouring countries and regional/international organisations. International aid is the third tier of humanitarian assistance, which is called in for specialised tasks such as complex search and rescue after an earthquake.

在灾难发生后，人们会先向他们的社区和政府寻求帮助，而后是邻国和区域/国际组织。国际援助是人道主义援助的第三级，其通常用于特殊任务，比如地震后的复杂搜索和救援工作。