World concern over use of donated funds | World news | The Guardian

World concern over use of donated funds | World news | The Guardian: "Fundraising efforts to help victims of the Burmese cyclone are being complicated by concern that the junta may misuse funds and block aid workers from reaching some of the worst-hit areas.

Potential British donors have voiced fears that the Burmese government is not doing more to help its own people. Major charities are also struggling to assure institutional donors that their money will be spent effectively in Burma."

More than one million could be homeless after cyclone, warns charity - icWales

More than one million could be homeless after cyclone, warns charity - icWales: "We are one of the biggest international non-governmental organisations (INGO) working in Burma with 500 national staff working from 35 offices across the country. We have project sites in all of the five states and divisions and since Monday our staff has been on the ground distributing aid to 30,000 people. Save the Children is providing food, water purification tablets, plastic sheeting, kitchen equipment and rehydration salts to treat diarrhoea to people in the worst-hit regions of Yangon and we are putting in place the logistical resources, including trucks and boats, to distribute shelter equipment, food and medication to people living in the remote areas of the rural delta region."

Ships, planes carry relief supplies to Myanmar for cyclone victims despite visa holdup

Ships, planes carry relief supplies to Myanmar for cyclone victims despite visa holdup: "GENEVA (AP) - Ships and cargo planes carried relief supplies to Myanmar on Wednesday while organizations distributed food and other aid to people left homeless by a devastating cyclone, officials said.
Myanmar's government stalled on issuing visas to aid workers, hampering relief operations. But U.N. and other agencies said they were making progress in persuading"

Global response to Myanmar cyclone victims - International Herald Tribune

Global response to Myanmar cyclone victims - International Herald Tribune: "Initial aid offerings to help an estimated 1 million people made homeless by the cyclone in Myanmar in addition to shipments by the U.N., Red Cross and other aid organizations:"

Make a tax-deductible donation to projects supporting myanmar disaster relief | GlobalGiving

A updated landing page from Global Giving.

Make a tax-deductible donation to projects supporting myanmar disaster relief | GlobalGiving: "he devastating Myanmar cyclone has killed over 22000 people, and thousands are still missing. A state of emergency has been declared in five regions: the capital city of Yangon, Irrawaddy, Pegu and the states of Karen and Mon. There is massive flooding, power loss, and damage to houses and other buildings. Support short-term relief and longer-term rebuilding efforts through these projects."

Laura Bush and the Myanmar Relief Effort - Philanthropy.com

Via the Chronicle Give and Take Blog

Laura Bush and the Myanmar Relief Effort - Philanthropy.com: "Laura Bush and the Myanmar Relief Effort

In appealing to help for victims of the cyclone in Myanmar, First Lady Laura Bush should have known better than to “mindlessly repeat the toothless U.S. policy positions on a government we disapprove of,” writes RIchard Walden on the Huffington Post."

Ships, planes carry relief supplies to Myanmar for cyclone victims despite visa holdup - International Herald Tribune

Ships, planes carry relief supplies to Myanmar for cyclone victims despite visa holdup - International Herald Tribune: "The international relief effort for hundreds of thousands of Myanmar cyclone victims picked up speed Wednesday as India dispatched two planeloads of aid and Myanmar authorized the United Nations to send air shipments, officials said."

IRIN Asia | Asia | Myanmar | MYANMAR: Offers of help face logistics and visa hurdles | Natural Disasters | News Item

IRIN Asia | Asia | Myanmar | MYANMAR: Offers of help face logistics and visa hurdles | Natural Disasters | News Item: "So far, shipments of emergency relief supplies from India, Thailand and other Asian countries have been sent, and the local Red Cross has also been distributing materials they had stockpiled in the country. Major donors have made multimillion-dollar funding pledges and some non-governmental organisations have launched appeals for cash."

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media: BlogHers Act and Other Ways to Help Myanmar Cyclone Victims

A variety of Coverage from Beth's Blog

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media: BlogHers Act and Other Ways to Help Myanmar Cyclone Victims: "Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar last weekend devastating five regions. Channel NewsAsia reported that more than 22,000 people are dead with another 41,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands are now homeless. The media reports are horrific. 'Witnesses described images of rice field littered with corpses.' Save the Children, one of the few relief agencies allowed to operate in-country, said the toll would rise sharply in the coming days as more victims were found in difficult to reach areas.

The photos, videos, and blog reports are giving us vivid citizen accounts. Global Voices, South Asia Editor, Mong Palatino, offers this round up of what blogs in the region are reporting, including these eye witness accounts."

Situation Reports; Contributions: Myanmar: Tropical Cyclone Nargis - May 2008, Myanmar: Cyclone Nargis OCHA Situation Report No. 3

Situation Reports; Contributions: Myanmar: Tropical Cyclone Nargis - May 2008, Myanmar: Cyclone Nargis OCHA Situation Report No. 3: "II. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

6. The Government has said it will receive international aid. The UN has been in close consultation with Government about the need for international support, which is available across all the key priority areas. Issuance of visas for critical humanitarian actors as soon will greatly enhance the international community's ability to meet the needs identified by the Government. This is a critical moment for Myanmar's vulnerable populations. In the next few days assessments must be provided or thousands more could die."

Aid for Myanmar Mobilizes, Mixed With Criticism - New York Times

Aid for Myanmar Mobilizes, Mixed With Criticism - New York Times: "While Myanmar, formerly Burma, has accepted only a trickle of aid, the information minister, Kyaw Hsan, said Tuesday that the country would be seeking assistance “from at home and abroad.” A United Nations spokeswoman in Geneva said disaster assessment officials were awaiting visas to enter Myanmar."

Capital charity to help cyclone victims - Scotsman.com News

Capital charity to help cyclone victims - Scotsman.com News: "Mercy Corps is working with fellow aid agencies to bring relief to families affected by the disaster, which have left up to 22,000 people dead. City-based fund manager, Artemis Investment Managers, have pledged £25,000 to the charity to help with its response."

Arab Times :: Cyclone dead tops 22,500

Arab Times :: Cyclone dead tops 22,500: "Cyclone dead tops 22,500

YANGON (Agencies): Myanmar’s military government raised its death toll from Cyclone Nargis on Tuesday to more than 22,500 with a further 41,000 missing, nearly all of them from a massive storm surge that swept into the vast Irrawaddy delta. Of the dead, only 671 were in the former capital, Yangon, and its outlying districts, state radio said, confirming Nargis as the most devastating cyclone to hit Asia since 1991, when 143,000 people died in Bangladesh. “More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself,” Minister for Relief and Resettlement Maung Maung Swe told a news conference in the rubble-strewn former capital, Yangon, where food and water supplies are running low. “The wave was up to 12 feet (3.5 metres) high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages,” he said, giving the first detailed description of the weekend cyclone. “They did not have anywhere to flee.”"

Burma Says Storm Killed 15,000 - washingtonpost.com

Burma Says Storm Killed 15,000 - washingtonpost.com: "Burma's government, which is traditionally wary of international aid workers, issued a rare appeal for outside help. The United Nations, the United States, Britain and the European Union all expressed willingness to assist, while India said Monday that it was already dispatching two naval ships with relief supplies."

Aid agencies begin difficult relief operation in Burma | World news | guardian.co.uk

Aid agencies begin difficult relief operation in Burma | World news | guardian.co.uk: "nternational aid workers are beginning the task of trying to get emergency supplies to the thousands of people stranded by cyclone Nargis in Burma, as charities describe the devastation as similar to the tsunami that struck Asia in 2004.

Teams of disaster specialists are on their way to the region. Save the Children already has 500 staff there but more are flying out as the scale of the situation emerges."

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Aid call as Burma casualties rise

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Aid call as Burma casualties rise: "International agencies are pushing to gain access for a massive aid operation in Burma, where the toll from Saturday's cyclone continues to rise.

Up to 15,000 people are said to have died in the disaster, and many more are missing, officials say.

Hundreds of thousands of people are said to be without clean water and shelter, with some areas still cut off.

Burma's leaders say they will accept external help, in a move correspondents say reflects the scale of the disaster."

Gulf Coast still needs volunteers

Gulf Coast still needs volunteers: "Gulf Coast still needs volunteers
Port Townsend and Jefferson County were well represented along the Gulf Coast for ongoing Hurricane Katrina relief efforts during the months of January and February.

While the major work of debris removal has mostly been completed in the region, the waiting line for affordable housing continues to grow faster than local relief organizations can build those new affordable homes, according to local volunteers."

KSDK NewsChannel 5 - DPS Director Thanks RIM for Rescheduling BlackBerry Updates

KSDK NewsChannel 5 - DPS Director Thanks RIM for Rescheduling BlackBerry Updates: "KSDK -- Director of Public Safety Mark James applauded the outstanding cooperation from Research In Motion (RIM) with Missouri's emergency response community. RIM postponed a scheduled 4 hour BlackBerry Database upgrade for all North American subscribers from early Saturday morning, until a future date."

FACTBOX-Tsunami donations around $12 billion | Environment | Reuters

FACTBOX-Tsunami donations around $12 billion | Environment | Reuters: "SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Government and multilateral agencies have pledged around $7 billion in aid for nations hit by the December 26 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean, while global private donations amount to around $5 billion."

The Jakarta Post - Indonesia thanks world for post-tsunami aid

The Jakarta Post - Indonesia thanks world for post-tsunami aid: "Indonesia thanks world for post-tsunami aid

When the deadly tsunami devastated Aceh and Nias in 2004, the global response was unprecedented. Millions of people -- from children to senior citizens -- donated huge amounts of money and goods to tsunami victims."