Earthquake in Iranian city of Bam: what you can do

The human death toll from the recent earthquake in the Iranian town of Bam has now reached at least 28,000, and it is possible that up to 50,000+, of the town's former population of 80,000, are now dead.

A calamity on this scale is hard to comprehend, but the need for food, shelter + medicines is obviously considerable.

Unfortunately, even basic support on this sort of scale is expensive, and I thought it might be useful to highlight what some of the relevant agencies are doing and what you can do to help support them...

The people of Iran and the Iranian Red Crescent Society have done a great job of rescuing people from the rubble + providing food, but more remains to be done... if you would like to donate directly to the local Red Crescent society you can do so by clicking here.

Alternatively, if you would prefer, you can donate via the International Committee of the Red Cross, the British Red Cross or the American Red Cross.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is leading efforts to provide survivors of the earthquake with safe drinking water + sanitation, to re-establish schooling and to ensure that child survivors are protected from harm and where possible reunited with their parents. You can donate to this work by clicking on this link.

Oxfam (UK) is working with the Red Cross/Red Crescent and have already flown in some aid. You can donate to Oxfam's work here...

Last but not least, Islamic Relief, a UK-based charity, is also working with partner organisations in Iran and you can donate to them here.

The Reuters Alertnet news service has produced a comprehensive list of all the international NGOs known to be operating in Bam, and this site is well worth consulting if you would like any more information.