ya know, my post was the first reference on this site to the disaster(s) you are experiencing and it was with some black humor to demonstrate the magnitude of what was happening and how it will have a worldwide effect.
having been deeply involved with taking care of Katrina evacuees, i'm all too familiar with what people go thru in these situations and hope you and everyone else fares better than what many reports have shown. sadly, these things do not wane quickly; the consequences tend to multiply for a while before settling down.
while prayers are nice, actually doing something to provide aid is more effective to those really in distress.
Toward that end, here’s some links you can use to assess how best to send aid:
http://brandon.patch.com/articles/five-links-for-japan-guide-to-sending-aid-learning-more 1. InterAction Members Support Japan Tsunami Response — This NGO (non-government association) has compiled a list of 23 groups organizing aid efforts, put together in an easy to view chart. An Associated Press report used, and linked to, this page in a posting of its own for news on how to help. The 23 aid efforts listed as of March 14 at 1:45 p.m. include those organized by American Red Cross, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), All Hands Volunteers, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, AmeriCares, Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team, Baptist World Alliance/Baptist Work Aid, Brother’s Brother Foundation, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, Catholic Relief Services, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Church World Service, Direct Relief International, Giving Children Hope, Habitat for Humanity, International Fund for Animal Welfare, International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Operation Blessing International, Relief International, Save the Children and World Vision.
2. Mashable offers a list of seven ways to help, including tips for texting, embedding code (on your own Web sites), using Facebook, using Twitter, donating via iTunes and buying virtual goods.
3. How To Help Japan: Earthquake Relief Options — This Huffington Post report summarizes the responses of various organizations, including some, but not all, listed by InterAction. The HuffPo report adds to the list of ways to give.
4. How To Help the Victims of the Japan Earthquake — This USA Today report, posted March 13, summarizes the crisis and offers its own list of ways to give, which in part echoes some of the entries noted in the links above but also adds additional posts to the mix.
5. The Google “Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake” offers two options: “I’m looking for someone” and “I have information about someone.” The site, as of 2 p.m. March 15, was “currently tracking about 161,200 records.”
and having personally worked with the Red Cross in disaster relief, I highly recommend support thru them.
www.redcross.org