Four Ways Social Media, Web Helps In Disaster

A tornado touched down Sunday in Joplin, Missouri, killing 89 people. The latest tornado to hit the South has raised the death toll to more than 400 people in recent months after a series of devastating twisters.

The May 22 tornado ripped a six-mile path across the southwestern part of Missouri. It was estimated to be a half-mile across when it hit Joplin, Slate reported.

If you can?t get on the ground to help in person, social media offers ways to help those most in need. You can also check out Mashable?s original post for ways you can help victims of other recent tornadoes. Below we?ve collected some quick ways you can support those in Missouri.

* Relief Spark is a non-profit focused on remodeling schools, but in the wake of the tornado, it has turned its Twitter feed into a valuable resource of information. Sample tweets direct first responders to meeting places and to posting what shelters have just opened their doors.

* A bunch of Facebook Pages have sprouted up to help residents find loved ones and join in the recovery process, including the Joplin, MO Tornado Recovery Page and a Joplin, MO Survivors? Page.

* You can search for Missouri-based Red Cross shelter centers or check out how the Red Cross is helping disaster victims across the American South. You can also donate to support their efforts.

* OzarksFirst.com, a local community and new site, has also put together a tremendous resource with help hotlines, phone numbers and web pages for volunteers and victims. It provides emergency numbers, the state senator?s office number and special hotlines for nurses and doctors looking to lend a hand. Help pages include the State Emergency Management Agency,Show-Me Response, a Facebook Page for the local hospital, which was badly damaged in the twister, and even a page for locating and reuniting with lost pets.

There are, of course, hundreds more ways to help tornado victims through monetary and supply donations or simply monitoring the help and lost person?s pages to assist in finding matches. Let us know in the comments how you plan on helping and any other good resources to get aid to Joplin.

Note: With all charities and non-profits, make sure any site you visit is properly registered and trustworthy before blindly sending money. Make sure your help does the most good possible.

Information provided by Mashable.com