Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda): What could a typical netizen do to help?

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda):  What could a typical netizen do to help?

International typhoon Haiyan (also known in the Philippines as Yolanda) devastated the South East Asian nations such as Micronesia, Southern China, Vietnam and the Philippines. The second deadliest typhoon that killed an estimated number of 3,633 people and still counting, destroyed houses and properties and collapsed transportation and communication lines in the country.  Arriving with strong 10-minute sustained winds of 230km/hr, the terror of the days between November  3-11, 2013 broke the hearts of Filipinos as evidenced by the bodies of casualties on the streets, lost children searching for their parents and vice versa, extreme starvation and lack of clean water to drink and destroyed shelters. This cyclone terrorized the Visayan Islands and the most dreaded affected areas were Samar and Leyte.

Photo By: NOAA/AFP/Getty Images/ National Geographic News (No Copyright Infringement)

            

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Photo By: mirror.co.uk (No copyright infringement intended)

Concerned countries, NGOs and International Organization donated what they could offer to help those victims to provide food and basic needs for their survival. So if you were just an ordinary person with no riches and checks to donate but still want to help, what could you do? Or what could we do? Being connected to the internet with just your typical computer or smartphone on hand could mean a lot. All we have to do is be aware and share information that could help and bridge people to reach out the calamity victims of the typhoon. Here are some:

• If you have a Twitter of Facebook account, you can RETWEET tweets from OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS of government agencies, organizations, and concerned individuals assigned and those information fed by media personalities and agencies like updates about missing people, conditions of the families there, electrical lines and so on.
• You can re-post videos of news clips from television stations and institutions but make sure they were from a credible official source.
• You can lead or form a group and team up to gather things that you could donate or volunteer by group by using the social media as a tool for reaching your friends and relatives.

In these times, social media can be used as a helpful tool to reach and help others, all we have to do is think of smart and spread the correct and helpful information for a good cause.

Here are some links of my favorite/trusted institutions in the Philippines case that you guys are searching.

• Philippine National Red Cross
• ABS-CBN Foundation Sagip Kapamilya
• World Vision Philippines
• Habitat for Humanity Philippines
• Caritas Manila