Archive for September 30th, 2009

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The past several days have seen a grouping of catastrophic events in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Hundreds are dead in the Philippines and Vietnam after Typhoon Ondoy dropped torrential rainfall, a tsunami flattened villages in American Samoa after an 8.0 earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean, and a 7.6 earthquake in Indonesia along the same fault line that caused the 2004 tsunami has flattened buildings and caused fires.

While we still don’t know the full extent of the damage in some of these locations, there are already aid groups on the ground helping to provide food, water and clothing to those affected. You can help with some of these efforts right now, especially in the Philippines and Vietnam, where aid groups have been on the ground for several days. We’ll be consistently updating the sections below on American Samoa and Indonesia, though relief workers are still arriving on the ground in those locations.

Below is a list of links that can direct you to how best to send aid to disaster-affected areas around the globe:

Vietnam

•Contact the communications officers in charge of Vietnam for Oxfam or make a direct donation.

•World Vision is providing food, aid and relief to families and students in Quang Tri, Quang Nam and Da Nang.

• Catholic Relief Services is also rushing to assist those who have been displaced by the flooding. Make a donation.

Philippines

•Google has compiled an extremely helpful list of emergency numbers and groups in the Philippines who are accepting donations. It also includes a broad view of the map displayed below.

•Help the UN World Food Programme by making a donation. This program identifies families in specific need of aid. Just $18 provides a family with rice for two weeks. This is the most critical and immediate way you can make an impact.

•UNICEF has already provided $143,000 worth of relief to affected children in the region. You can call 1-800-4UNICEF or donate via their Philippines Floods page.

•Plain and simple — donate to the International Red Cross and help them continue to put relief workers on the ground in the Philippines.

•Donate via Catholic Relief Services online or call 1-877-HELP-CRS

•Operation USA is preparing to send relief supplies to typhoon victims in and around Manila. Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1.800.678.7255 or by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.

American Samoa

•Aid efforts have begun in American Samoa though the full extent of the damage has not yet been assessed. The first U.S. relief plane is expected to have landed at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday.

•The U.S. Coast Guard has dispatched resources to help in recovery efforts, though workers will likely have to assess the extent of the damage before significant aid is requested.

•Joe Becker, the Senior Vice President of Disaster Services has uploaded an update to YouTube with the emergency response to the tsunami in American Samoa. He discusses how problematic it is to get enough supplies over the thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean. He thanks those who have donated and asks for further donations to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

• International relief agency Operation USA is sending emergency medical aid to American and Western Samoa, appealing for donations to go towards health care materials, water purification supplies and food supplements that will be shipped from the Port of Los Angeles. Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1.800.678.7255 or by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.

Indonesia

•A 7.6 earthquake struck Indonesia at 5:00 p.m. local time. Thousands may still be trapped under buildings according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Health crisis center.

•The Indonesian vice president said that 75 are confirmed dead in Sumatra, though with more trapped under buildings, that number is expected to rise.

•I’ll update this section with aid information when available.

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