Tsunami Tragedy - The Aftermath UPDATED

As of yesterday, the death toll stood at more than 23,000. Sri Langka, India and Indonesia are the worst affected by this waves of destruction. From Sri Langka alone, more than 11,000 had been killed.

Yesterday, immediately after returning from work, I stayed glued to the TV set, scanning for news. Images of kids hanging on to a hut in Sri Langka, and then being washed away by the strong current really broke my heart. Back home, an amateur film that was taken while a family was picnicking in Penang were shown over and over again. In the film, we could see the waves hit the shores in seconds! Stories of death of family members and close friends were now all over the media.

By now, a few organisations have set up emergency funds to help affected families to lessen their burden. Malaysian government has also announced immediate aid of RM1000 for the families of those who died, while RM500 for families who have to evacuate their home, and RM200 for those who were injured.

NST and Berita Harian (with TV3 and 8TV) has set up a Malaysian Tsunami Disaster Fund, with various businessmen pledging donations publicly. Contributions can be sent to the New Straits Times or Berita Harian at:

Balai Berita,
31, Jalan Riong,
59100 Kuala Lumpur

and cheques should be made out to New Straits Times Press Berhad. On the reverse side of the cheque, please write NST-BH Malaysian Tsunami Disaster Fund.

The Star, with association with Malaysian Red Crescent Society and Mercy Malaysia has launched The Star Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Fund. Cheques can be sent to their headquarters at:
Menara Star,
15 Jalan 16/11,
Section 16,
46350 Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia,

or to their Penang office at:
The Star Northern Hub
202 Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah,
11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang.

If you want to donate to MRCS, please write your cheque to Malaysian Red Crescent Society and mark “Tidal Waves Victims” at the back of the cheque. If you want to donate to Mercy Malaysia, please make your cheque to Mercy Humanitarian Fund with “South-East Asia Earthquake Appeal” written on the back of the cheque. The Star will hand over the cheques to the respective organisations at the end of the appeal campaign.

A fellow blogger, Mack Zulkifli (Brand New Malaysia) has also started a donation campaign. You can contact him at prf@brandmalaysia.com.

A reader has also sent me this thru the commenting system. For our Indonesian friends, hop over to PUNDI AMAL SCTV on infomation of how you could contribute.

For international efforts, Acorn has a list of links various relief funds and international NGOs. Please check it out.

UPDATED :
From The Star, The Sri Lankan High Commission sets up two collection centres at the Brickfields Buddhist Temple and Sentul's Sri Lanka Buddhist Temple. They appealed for tents, blankets, linen and pre-cooked food items, as well as medicine like Panadol, antibiotics, dressing, suture material, disposable syringes, intravenous infusions (saline and dextrose), portable generators and any other things needed by the victims. For more information, call the
Brickfields Temple at 03-2274 1141,
the Ti-Ratana Community Centre at 03-2287 3800 or
the Sri Lankan High Commission at 03-4256 8987 or 03-4257 1394.

If you are in Subang Jaya or USJ, the SJ/USJ community has set up the SJ/USJ Tsunami Disaster Fund. Check it out.

UPDATED 2 :
The Star has teamed up with Maybank with another relief fund, The Star/Maybank Tsunami Relief Fund. All contributions will go to the Tabung Bantuan Bencana Negara. Those who wished to contribute (by cash or cheque)to the fund can walk in to any of the Maybank branches nationwide, or through third party transfer via Maybank ATM machines. The account number for The Star/Maybank Tsunami Relief Fund is No. 114013169092.

The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS) has also set up a relief fund. For more info, contact them at:
Wisma CUEPACS,
No. 34, Jalan Gajah
off Jalan Yew, Pudu,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Phone: +603 92856110, 92858104
Fax: +603 9285 9457

And now you can SMS your donation through Celcom or Digi. I saw the news yesterday, but I can't seem to find the info on this. Each SMS will be charged RM4.

UPDATED 3:
OK, I got the donation thru SMS for the Celcom or Digi subscribers only. Type AIDBENCANA to 36677. Each SMS will be charged RM4. I think this is organised by NTV7, you can get the info on their website. I called Celcom Careline and they gave me another SMS number and a telephone number. I followed up with that telephone number and the guy I was talking to was absolutely clueless!

AMP Radio (MixFM, Hitz.fm etc) is also collecting donations for the National Tsunami Disaster Fund thru SMS. Simply type AMP and send it to 32328. Each SMS costs RM1. For more info check out their websites.