Tsunami Blogs you can rely on
Death total now: 114,000 with nearly 80,000 in Indonesia alone.
In light of the deadliest tsunami in recorded history, the capacity of technology’s best and brightest to add to disaster relief efforts was an expressed concern of AnonyMoses here.
Since 5 am Monday, about 2/3rds of my posts have covered breaking news, needs, and groups trying to help with the tsunami relief effort. This will be a comprehensive overview of immediate ways to help, and longterm solutions being devised by tech-heads, along with some history of their work.
The latter deserves attention because well-meaning people around the globe are setting up sites solo, when united efforts are better able to deliver (no knock intended to Arun Balaji; I hope he reads this post and brings his effort to the groups I’ll describe).
Info for Hands-on Volunteers in Stricken Countries
From Alexandra Olson at Salon:
Dec. 29, 2004 | Dead bodies cannot cause disease outbreaks, the Pan American Health Organization said Wednesday, hoping to avert mass burials of tens of thousands of unidentified victims from the tsunami in Asia and Africa.
There is no danger of corpses contaminating water or soil because bacteria and viruses cannot survive in dead bodies, said Dana Van Alphan, an adviser to the organization’s Office of Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief.
She said it was important for survivors to be allowed to identify loved ones and urged authorities in tsunami-stricken countries to avoid burying unidentified corpses in mass graves.
“I think that psychologically, people have to be given the chance to identify their family members,” she said. “Whatever disease the person has while still alive poses no threat to public health in a corpse.”
Van Alphan warned, however, that rescue officials handling recently deceased bodies should wear gloves to avoid contact with blood. But she emphasized that any bacteria or virus in the blood would die almost immediately in the open.
The greatest impediment to relief at the moment is transportation into stricken areas. Relief supplies are piling up in some locations, but with roads washed away, moving the relief is the hardest to achieve. (Known relief orgs can move volunteers for free via these India airlines.)
In the comments sections of blogs set up to coordinate info, it’s also clear there’s many willing hands ready to head to the scene, but they’re looking for info on how to achieve that. Helicopters, four wheel drive vehicles and boats are obviously the transportation needed most. Considering the size of the societies involved and their technology at hand, it would seem that India, Thailand, and Indonesia should be working on that first and foremost. And don’t just wait for the governments; if you live within a day’s drive, and have these conveyances, head to the scene and offer to chauffeur. And pack a few 5 gallon cans of petrol or gasoline; supplies of these may be thin in the areas of devastation.
And pack enough food and water for yourself for at least a week. Most hungry people can hold out for a week without food, if they can stay hydrate, so extra water will probably help, too. Cellphones and extra batteries for them would be advisable, too.
Who needs the help most? In pure fatalities and destroyed infrastructure, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives fared the worst. Myanmar/Burma’s repressive government may be shielding its real damages from outsiders, but it’s unlikely amateur relief providers would even want to work there. But faalities alone don’t tell the story. Nearby India and Thailand took serious damages, but so did faraway Somalia, where some estimate 50,000 are homeless. Malaysia, Bangladesh and Tanzania round out the ten with the likely greatest needs, though the top three to seven likely need all the help they can get.
Mark Schapiro of Salon provides the best report on the Maldives that I’ve found.
Major sites for all kinds of info useful to anyone concerned
The top continues to be the hastily organized The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog, also called the ‘SEA-EAT’ blog. Check this one often. Though the information ranges all over the place, it’s a vital source.
For Indonesia specifically, try Indonesia Help or SEA-EAT’s last Indonesia-specific post.
For Thailand specifically, SEA-EAT’s post here is a good starting point.
As I noted, SEA-EAT keeps adding useful info like that so check there several times daily. And they publish in the following languages:
German
Spanish
French
Italian
Portugese
Japanese
Korean
Chinese
For India specifically, IndiaTogether also offers useful info, on this page as well. ASHA, an organization dedicated to educating India’s underprivileged children, that has many US chapters, is also doing small-scale relief efforts in numerous villages. They’ve launched ASHA’S Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation blog. You can leave comments there if you have questions or wish to help.
Info for people wishing to donate money, goods, effort or anything
Quickly assembled charities should be treated with suspicion. Though some are likely aboveboard, scammers abound amid disasters. In addition to the map and casualty list noted here, I offered advice for donors. Pay particular attention to the final link there, to Charity Navigator, as their assessment of the groups involved narrows to seven those that measure up best in their ratings.
Info for people seeking to locate missing people
The SEA-EAT bloggers set up the Tsunami Missing People blog. Ask questions or leave info in the comments, or contact Paolo Di Maio via this form. She’s a London based engineer and publisher who seems to be posting most of the info at the TMP site.
General breaking news sites
Besides SEA-EAT, an older humanitarian relief blog exists. It culls news stories, reports from UN and government agencies, and publishes as ReliefWeb. For the tsunami info, that aggregated info is here. Be sure to check their sidebar links as well.
HEWS (Humanitarian Early Warning System) provides a daily look at natural disaster events occurring globally.
There are several news aggregator sites you could supplement these with. Anything from Google News: tsunami to Indonesia: NewsTrove to NewsTrove: tsunami should provide plenty.
Individuals and Collectives, short and long-term
There’s many an individual blogger covering this. There’s also some collectives with a past record and longer-term goals in this, that extend beyond this disaster. I’ll cover all the most useful ones I’ve found later today, in ‘Tsunami Blogs, Pt. 2′.
December 30th, 2004 at 8:45 am
Dec. 30, 2004
I live in Phuket, Thailand and visited Khao Lak yesterday, including the Sofitel Hotel. I saw over 1,000 bodies (50+ bodies at the Sofitel) during the trip and am convinced that Thai government statistics regarding casualties are highly inaccurate/underestimated. Someone with access to accurate statistics relating to a world-wide tally of missing and confirmed dead of non-Thais in the Thailand could quickly substantiate my claim.
Also, the Thai government should be questioned for their inaction after being warned 1-1/2 hours in advance by American scientists monitoring the Pacific as to possible €œdestructive waves€. Many of the victims could have been saved with only a 5-10 minute warning. I personally know of two Philippino women who were saved by a several minute warning from the Sofitel assistant GM.
December 30th, 2004 at 9:24 pm
—-Since 5 am Monday, about 2/3rds of my posts have covered breaking news, needs, and groups trying to help with the tsunami relief effort.—–
And you’ve done an excellent job, Kevin. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, for certain.
I mentioned both Part one and Part two of “Tsunami Blogs You Can Rely On” at my site tonight. Thanks for the time-consuming work I know you’ve been doing to get this information out to us.
–Jude
January 1st, 2005 at 2:13 am
We’ve set up a website that makes it even easier for people to generate funds for the tsunami relief effort. Please check out http://www.ReliefSearch.org.
Very simply, when users click on search results generated from ReliefSearch.org, the site earns revenues on a pay-per-click basis. All click revenues generated from these searches will help fund the victims of the Earthquake/Tsunami disaster. People can continue performing searches on the web as they normally would, only proceeds from their activities on ReliefSearch.org will help the cause. So, we’re encouraging users to use the ReliefSearch.org search engine instead of Google or Yahoo!
Our goal is 1 million searches in the next 30 days. Anything you can do to help spread the word about ReliefSearch.org will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much for your help!
January 1st, 2005 at 7:09 am
I’m willing to travel to assist in the relief effort but can’t afford the airfare. Any suggestions?
January 2nd, 2005 at 4:47 pm
Lacerne (Jr) I was glad to see this and know you survived.
January 5th, 2005 at 8:15 pm
I am a general Contractor from Camano Island Wa,USA, I have tools, 35 years of hands on knowledge of structural engineering, all phases of concrete applications,(walls, flatwork)wood and steel roof systems, floor systems, temporary structures, drainage of waste and water, and digging with a shovel in my hand! I have portable tools and could fit enough in a 6ftX6ft crate with a portable generator. I can run a crew or be part of one, I’m interested in volenteering to work for free and help anyway I can for three months. I’m working on sponsorship here at home and need some advice and direction to come abroad. I speak some french, have lived in Taiwain and was in Viet Nam! I also am working on getting building material donated to ship! Do you need me??? KIP
January 7th, 2005 at 6:42 am
Waves of fury beating on the shore,
Unimaginable heights terrify us to the core.
Man, woman, child it holds no discrimination,
Leaving behind utter chaos and mass devastation.
Suffering, bereavement, misery and sorrow,
How long must we endure this horror.
Lives lost, businesses perished and wrecked homes,
Stench of doom, still growing in loom.
What can we do in times like this,
Should we just stand by and not assist?
Please give your means to those in need,
This is the time to do good deeds.
Lastly, please say a prayer to all survivors of Tsunami,
May they have the strength to overcome this catastrophe.
January 19th, 2005 at 1:48 am
Thai Tusnami Fund for Direct Relief to victims of the tsunami tragedy in Thailand.
Dear Sir/Madam,
We have launched “ThaiTsunamiFund.com” to help those affected by the disaster. We hope to match donors with victims directly - getting help to those in need when they need it. Government bureaus, international organisations and aid groups are working round the clock to rebuild and rejuvenate but the millions of dollars pledged are not made available quickly enough to meet immediate needs.
This is not to criticise the process but to accept that these things take time and so we have to find solutions in the mean time. We have decided to start with case summaries from where we are in Phuket, further north in Khaolak and surrounding islands. Some cases are pleas for help pending at government offices and relief centers. Others have been referred by samaritans, tourists who stayed on to help where they can. We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of compassion and feel that if help can somehow get to the victims much quicker, many more will be saved both physically and emotionally.
Right now there are families who have lost bread-winners, orphaned kids, survivors with no homes to go to and nothing left to carry on. Most have only modest requests - provisions, clothing and a roof over their heads. The Thai government has expedited most of the rehabilitation work and construction is underway to build up to 5,000 basic homes (US$2,500 each) in Khaolak where whole villages have been wiped out. Fishermen just want to have their boats back so they can go to sea - without their daily catch they have no hope of carrying on. But they don’t have boats nor fishing nets - some have applied for these at the centers. Most are still waiting. Villagers mostly want to have a chance to continue to make a living so they can carry on with their lives - the longer it takes, the less confidence they have in the future and more difficult it is to rebuild the community.
We can relate countless instances of dire need for help. But action does speak louder than words. As web developers and ebusiness solution providers, we have taken it upon ourselves to set up the TTF site to offer those of you who want to help, an opportunity to provide direct relief to those in immediate need of assistance. We look forward to your assistance or any referrals you can make. We are currently putting together case summaries but you can register your interest to help by using the TTFContact Form online. When we have a case that could benefit from your proposed contribution, we will contact you. We will then archive the handover event and post a record of it on the site; donors will be informed of the same. Details in most part include name of the donor, recipient, a snapshot of the event and thank you note signed by the recipient; you may however choose to remain anonymous.
We have volunteered our time on a daily basis to manage the site. Contributions from sponsors help defray costs. We offer in exchange appropriate advertising space on the site if required. Thank you for reading this note. We are grateful to all who have helped in one way or another. The TTF site is just one avenue to offer help directly to those desperately in need.
Please visit the site and refer friends too. Any help is appreciated.
Best regards,
TTF Direct Relief Group
www.ThaiTsunamiFund.com