The Asian tsunami: web-technology and the bringing of aid

On the day BBC News reports on podcasting and The Times accords Wikipedia a front rank place in the reporting of the Asian tsunami, one might think that web-based technology, applications and resources are indeed entering the mainstream at a number of different points. This is the argument my colleague, Ian, set out earlier today, with specific reference to the Asian catastrophe. Ian went on to say:

All those books that we've been reading finally begin to make sense: The Tipping Point, The Wisdom of Crowds and Small Pieces, Loosely Joined. WebLogs, Wikis, Flickr (imagery), Event Alerts, e-mail, have all been deployed to best effect. It seems the only way to handle a catastrophic event of this scale is by managing the problem from the bottom up — indeed the most noticeable thing about the whole tragedy has been the extraordinary absence of "top down" leadership.

I am struck, too, at the way our desire to donate funds has been facilitated by, for example, Google and Amazon. The Disasters Emergency Committee (UK) has its own appeal portal.

The Times report also said:

There aren't too many bloggers in the towns and villages around the Indian Ocean, but some blogs have reflected the drama these past few days, notably Fred at Extra Extra, posting reflections and pictures from Sri Lanka. In Malaysia, try the screenshots blog from Jeff Ooi. His entry Are You OK, Myanmar? points out how the government of Burma, which is right in the path of the tsunami, has been sending messages of commiseration to neighbouring countries, but has yet to admit to any serious destruction at home. In India, try sumankumar.com, run by blogger R. Sumankumar - who has also set up a blog dedicated to raising funds for Indian victims.  A contributor, Nanda Kishore, offered photos and commentary from Madras: "Some drenched till their hips, some till their chest, some all over and some of them were so drenched that they had already stopped breathing." The SEA-EAT blog was set up by a group of around 30 South Asian bloggers to help direct funds to relief agencies. They are posting a lot of updates on death tolls and relief needs. 

A lot of sites have been set up to help people find each other amid the mayhem - not just tourists in Thailand or Sri Lanka, but locals and their relatives. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been helping people get in touch during and after conflicts for decades, and its Family Links page is doing the same for victims of the tsunami … The Thai Government is to set up a website showing pictures of those found dead after the disaster, but it's not gone live yet. Phuket Hospital is posting lists of patients at various hospitals around Phuket - there are well over 100 names of British patients at the main Phuket hospital. The Sri Lankan tourist board has set up the contactsrilanka site to help people track down missing relatives. It says about 100 foreign tourists died in the country and 85 are unaccounted for. The BBC website has received thousands of messages from survivors of the disaster, and relatives of those who died. Sky News - apparently in reaction to stories that the Foreign Office helpline was creaking under the strain - offered to pass on messages to and from families back in the UK, which are repeated on its site. The Lonely Planet message boards have also been deluged with travellers' tales and requests for information.

There is a BBC News page where their reporters in Asia can blog their reports. And there is now a BBC page entitled, Web logs aid disaster recovery.