The images and stories from Japan in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunamis become more horrifying by the hour – from footage of waves washing away entire towns in seconds to reports of meltdowns at nuclear power plants.
There’s a feeling of helplessness as you look through photos of people sifting through what’s left of their homes or walking to higher ground, but there are many options for online donations, as well as sites that will help you keep tabs on the rescue effort.
DONATE
The Red Cross is accepting donations on its Web site and via text message. Amazon has also posted links on its sites to the Red Cross. When donating online, the organization will give you the option of donating directly to the Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami, to other efforts on which the Red Cross is working, or simply where the need is greatest. To make a $10 donation via your mobile phone, text REDCROSS to 90999.
The Salvation Army in Japan has three emergency service relief teams working throughout the affected regions in Japan. One of those teams is working with people who have been evacuated from the area around the damaged nuclear power plants. Additional emergency service personnel will soon leave London for Japan. The organization said that a trip from Tokyo to Sendai, which normally takes six hours, recently took 20 hours. The group is accepting donations online, and mobile users can also text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to donate $10.
GlobalGiving: This organization is working with International Medical Corps, Save the Children, and other organizations on the ground. Text JAPAN to 50555 to donate.
Save the Children Federation: The group said it has teams within 80 miles of the nuclear reactor at Fukushima to assess the needs of children. To donate, text JAPAN or TSUNAMI to 20222.
International Medical Corps: The group said it will focus its efforts on earthquake and tsunami affected communities that have not yet been reached. To donate, text MED to 80888.
Mercy Corps: On Sunday, Mercy Corps partner Peace Winds conducted assessments in two devastated cities in northeast Japan, Ishimaki and Kesennuma. On Monday they’ll helicopter 30 family-sized tents for homeless survivors in Kesennuma, plus materials to construct a 100-person balloon shelter, Mercy Corps said. To donate, text MERCY to 25383.
Convoy of Hope: This faith-based hunger group will deploy teams and supplies to devastated areas. Text TSUNAMI to 50555 to donate $10.
World Relief: This faith-based organization is part of the National Association of Evangelicals. World Relief said it is in touch with the Japanese Evangelical Association, and will respond as necessary. To donate, text WAVE to 50555.
Adventist Development and Relief Agency: ADRA has committed an initial response to $25,000 and sent an assessment team to evaluate and prepare a broader response. At this point, ADRA is providing food and shelter at the Central Tokyo Seventh-day Adventist Church for train passengers stranded in Tokyo. Text SUPPORT to 85944 to donate.
World Vision: The group said it will establish one or more child-friendly spaces – sites for children affected by disasters intended to help them resume normal childhood activities that are lost after emergencies. To donate, text 4JAPAN or 4TSUNAMI to 20222.
Alibaba.com’s AliExpress is allowing users to purchase disaster relief and emergency items at cost, which the company will ship to Japan free of charge. Shoppers can buy things like a small tent for $10.52, LED flashlight for $0.44, a sleeping bag for $7.69, and more. Specify “Japan Earthquake Relief” as the shipping address at checkout and Alibaba will send the items from its Shanghai warehouse to Japan.
MAKE FREE CALLS/TEXTS
Verizon said Monday that calls to Japan will be free for wireless and residential customers through April 10. Post-paid customers – who receive a monthly bill from Verizon – will also get free text and multimedia messaging to Japan during the same time period. Meanwhile, FiOS customers who do not subscribe to TV Japan will get free access until March 17.
Until March 31, AT&T Wireless post-paid customers will not be charged for international, long distance calls from the United States and Puerto Rico to Japan, or Japan-bound text messages that originate from a U.S. wireless number. Residential wireline customers can seek credits for up to 60 minutes of direct dial calling to Japan, also until March 31. AT&T is also making TV Japan free to all U-Verse TV subscribers until March 17.
T-Mobile and Sprint said they will waive text messaging fees for those who send donations via their mobile phones, as will AT&T and Verizon.
KEEP TABS
Google Crisis Response: This site provides local Japan emergency numbers, phone numbers to consult about missing persons, links to make donations, recent alerts, disaster message boards, information about shelters, blackout information, interactive maps, and more.
Google Person Finder: This site lets people looking for friends and loved ones post information or look through a database that now has more than 160,000 records. Users can click on the “I’m looking for someone” link or the “I have information about someone” link and enter what they know. Search by name or parts of a name, or – if you have information – enter the family or given name to create an entry. It’s also available in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese.
Google Shelter Updates: Google launched a service that allows people currently housed in shelters to share the list of names of disaster victims. The search giant is asking people living in shelters to take photos with their cell phones of shelter posters with people’s names, and send it to tohoku.anpi.google@picasaweb.com, specifying the name of the shelter in the subject line. The will be automatically uploaded to a Picasa Web Album. Google is in the process of manually adding the names from those photos to Person Finder.
TimeOutTokyo Twitter feed: The magazine, which normally focuses on entertainment options, has been providing steady updates on the goings on in the city and surrounding regions, including information about blackouts and the situation with the country’s nuclear reactors.
YouTube’s Citizen Tube: The Google-owned video site has been gathering harrowing, first-person footage of the quake and the subsequent tsunamis. From citizens ducking for cover as the quake hit to people looking in horror as the waves engulfed entire towns, the footage is riveting and heartbreaking.
Hiroko Tabuchi Twitter feed: This Tokyo-based business and tech reporter for the New York Times has been tweeting about the disaster and its aftermath for several days.
SXSW4Japan: Organizers at the annual conference in Austin acted quickly to create a site that not only accepts contributions, but also enables attendees to do what they do best, share the news and create their own support networks. The original goal of $10,000 has been doubled to $20,000.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2381922,00.asp
Mercy Corps is working to help survivors of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami with our longstanding partner, Peace Winds.
Peace Winds helicoptered emergency supplies on Monday — including tents, blankets, cooking fuel, tarps, rice and bread — to families evacuated from homes in the tsunami-devastated city of Kesennuma.
Your donation will be used to meet immediate and longer-term needs of earthquake survivors.
How to Donate Online.Link.
https://www.mercycorps.org/donate/japan?source=55400&gclid=CMfI1dfA0KcCFQd76wodgwdrDw
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