On my drive to work this morning, I began wondering about all those relief efforts that were launched after the December 2004 Tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. So I started the day at the office by looking for reports/numbers online, trying to find some indication of how money was being spent and what progress was being made. I found a great website called ReliefWeb which has really opened my eyes to the hundreds of other problems around the world that don’t make CNN’s world report for four weeks at a time.

This web page is amazing, really. There is a section dedicated to the Dec. 2004 tsunami that contains various updates (I think there are some 7,000+ reports relating to the Tsunami disaster, and new ones daily) and information on every aspect of the disaster. The page also contains information about who is working on disaster relief, listings of appeals for funding, and training and job vacancies relating to the disaster. A wonderful page, and I mend that everyone take a look around to see where your donations have gone. (I found a UNICEF one-year update that contains some financial breakdowns for those who are interested.)

I found another page dedicated to the recent hurricane disaster that battered our Gulf coast this summer. Again, updates almost daily, including kudos to various groups and organizations that are providing relief, as well as information about current problems and issues that victims face.