This weekend, a 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal. It has been devastating to the region, in Kathmandu and surrounding areas, and causing avalanches and deaths on Everest, too.
So far, the earthquake has caused 3,800 deaths, according to reports by the Guardian, which also states that they expect that number to “rise sharply.” At least 18 are reported dead from the avalanche at Everest’s base camp, including Google engineer Dan Fredinburg, as reported by the New York Times.
You can read more about the local impact on Seattle in this report on KIRO TV, including news that a Bellingham-area couple, Doreen Richmond and Jim Lane, are still missing.
Seattle-based climbing companies are also awaiting help, KIRO reporting that groups were “either at base camp or mid-climb” when the earthquake hit.
The BBC is reporting that at least 7,000 people are injured, thousands more are homeless and in need of basics like water, food, medicine and blankets. Donating funds to relief efforts is a personal choice, but here are a few quick ways to get funding overseas fast.
Apple relaunched its Red Cross donation page on its iTunes store and will donate 100 percent of the proceeds to the organization’s relief efforts. You can find it via the page here.
Facebook has also announced a campaign for International Medical Corps. You can donate via Facebook, which has states that it will match donations up to $2 million. The social media giant also activated its “Safety Check” feature Saturday in surrounding areas to help people communicate with those back home. “Since then, millions of people have been marked safe and tens of millions of people were notified that someone they know has been marked safe,” Facebook reports.
Microsoft has also posted a response on its blog, stating that it will provide a “minimum of $1 million in donations of cash, technology and services to the rescue and recovery effort in Nepal.” MS states that this will include a donation to NetHope, “a consortium of 40+ international non-governmental organizations that specializes in improving IT connectivity among humanitarian organizations in developing countries and areas affected by disaster – to support the nonprofit’s deployment and response operations.”
Microsoft also added that it’s making all Skype calls in and out of Nepal free of charge, as well as activated its internal employee Giving site “to encourage and match donations from Microsoft employees to first-responder organizations in the region, including American Red Cross, Direct Relief, International Medical Corps, Mercy Corps and World Vision.”
King5 has also posted a great resource page on where to donate, including the aforementioned Portland-based Mercy Corps.
A climber at Everest’s base camp, Jost Kobusch, captured this incredibly terrifying footage of the avalanche and posted to YouTube below:
Are there other great apps or ways to donate funds quickly and reliably to a trusted source? Send them my way to molly@geekwire.com.
