How to Help Typhoon Haiyan Survivors

Typhoon Haiyan
Image taken by NASA

The Philippines were devastated under the recent typhoon, Typhoon Haiyan, that slammed into them, with potentially thousands dead and survivors struggling for food, water, and shelter in the aftermath. This was possibly the strongest storm to make landfall in recorded history, with wind speeds during landfall reaching 195mph--the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, if you live in North America and are more familiar with that scale.

(If a Category 6 had officially been on the charts, it would have been a Category 6. It had wind speeds higher than Hurricane Camille, Hurricane Andrew, the 1959 Mexico Hurricane, or Hurricane Wilma, and it will no doubt soon appear on the list of the history's strongest tropical cyclones.)

The charity review site Charity Navigator lists a set of places where you can donate, and rates each charity so you know exactly what you're donating to, and how much of your donation goes directly to those impacted.

ABC News also offers a set of sites to donate.

You'll hear of lots of charity organizations springing up to help the people of the Philippines and other hard-hit areas. Scammers, too, will try to take the money you're giving to help people, so if you're suspicious that a pop-up charity might not be legit, take a moment to research--your generosity is supposed to save lives, not scammers, after all. If you want research any charity, the Better Business Bureau also has a charity review feature. Read up on Tips for Smart Giving.

(Note: This is Wednesday's post up early for extended top-of-the-blog time, as it's immediately relevant. There will be no other posts until Friday.)