Tsunami: Somalia, Sam-Uncle, Systematic Warning.
Thought it's now in the company of many, longer lists, I hope that if you haven't given and are looking for ways to help the Tsunami victims, you will please consider taking a look at my list of ways to help.
Somalia is often left out from discussion of this disaster, since it's not in the main region. This is particularly unfortuante because even though the initial death toll seems relatively "low" (~200 fatalities) tens of thousands of people have been displaced and there isn't really a working government in place to deal with them. UN relief agencies are asking for help, and the UNHCR would probably be a good agency to give money to. A Somalia round-up on the TsunamiHelp blog.
The United States has pledged $350 Million in Aid. I guess the clamor about us being "stingy" actually paid off, so yay for that! Political differences aside, I'm deeply appreciative of the Administration's efforts, and I hope they will feel their work is paying off. I finally turned on CNN last night (and found it to be just fine)--and heard one disaster relief expert, a man named Rosenblatt, calling for a figure of world-class stature to coordinate the efforts. He suggested it might be a good post-resignation job for Colin Powell once Condoleeza Rice takes over as Secretary of State. If his health is upto it, I think Bill Clinton might be a good choice.
Matthew Yglesias has been pointing out all kinds of awful disaster possibilities, like the calderas of Sumatra & Yellowstone, which routinely give me nightmares. (A Discovery Channel special about them I once watched was probably one of the most terrifying pieces of moving picture I've ever experienced.) My take home conclusion from all these thoughts of doom and gloom is that we have to approach disaster relief in an integrated, systematic fashion--globablly integrated, and integrated by type too. It's too overwhelming to make a global Tsunami warning system, then make a global typhoon warning system, then make a global chemical disaster warning system. But if we have an integrated global warning system, and make it a global priority to prepare communities and individuals for a range of disasters, we can make it a more singular & approachable task.
