For the victims of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, there have been many food and water distribution supplied in all prefectures in Tohoku and Ibaraki pref.
To make suffered people know the info, volunteers are collaborating on making and maintaining database by using Google Maps. The name is Takidashi Map (Takidashi = feeding, soup run in Japanese)
http://ow.ly/4dmEm Miyagi
http://ow.ly/4dmBb Fukushima
http://ow.ly/4dmBu Ibaraki
http://ow.ly/4dmCk Tochigi
http://ow.ly/4dutZ Aomori
http://ow.ly/4duvd Iwate
http://ow.ly/4dEra Yamagata
You may browse that many shelters, shops, local centers are offering feeding, food and/or water supply, free cellphone charge, and other helps, which which day and time they are provided for how many people.
Any organizations, restaurants, supermarket and individual who can serve are recommended to add their info. Many volunteers are collecting info from Twitter timeline and register them to it. Users visiting the place are expected to confirm that the service was really provided there, as there could be fallacious or mistook info.
For many people who can not use PC, because of lack of electricity, or because their primary web environment is cellphone, there are lighter list page for mobile,
http://reader.bz/feed/87/
Cellphone search,
http://www.primedesignworks.com/earthquake/takidashi.php
You may also use Twitter, by sending your address to a Twitter bot @takidashitan. The account @takidashitan will search and reply to you the maximum five nearest locations within 30 kilometers.
# You need to give the address in Japanese, and the address has to start with any of prefecture name in the area affected by the quake.
Takidashitan is working on Google App Engine, and the API specification is publicized.
There are many cellphone usage observed in Tohoku area, even in and near the heavily damaged locations, so cellphone page and Twitter bot are really practical way to help people there.
thanks Akky: Asiajin has been a great resource in this difficult time.
btw, we’re making solar lanterns: http://tokyohackerspace.org/en/japan-in-crisis
you might already have heard, but just in case.
and, for the Japanese folks who think that all foreigners have abandoned them, here’s a good essay: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-im-not-fleeing-japan/2011/03/16/ABQsdhk_story.html
Thanks for the info. I tweeted that.
That reminds me another news that Panasonic is also sending 4,000 solar lanterns to there.
http://jp.sanyo.com/eneloop/circle/project/jp/lantern/index.html
Having that kind of thing at home will be a good idea after experiencing this crisis.