FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Tsunami Relief

I'm back from my all-too-brief Christmas hiatus, hoping that those of you who celebrated the holiday had a good one.

Of course, the big story over the past several days has been the deadly tsunami that struck southern Asia and, at latest count, caused 80,000 deaths. If you are interesting in helping out in any way you can, CNN.com has posted links to charities and relief agencies who are accepting donations on the victims' behalf.

Also, as you might imagine, Smart Mobs has posts telling how mobile phones and SMS messaging have helped save lives during the disaster, the role that blogs are playing in relaying information and coordinating relief (such as this Blogger blog), and an ICQ message board and free SMS service dedicated to helping people locate friends and loved ones in the stricken areas. WorldChanging is covering the situation as well, with numerous posts and links to resources.