Patrick Crispen's Tourbus...a follow-up

Yesterday, I told you about Patrick Crispen and the wealth of practical computer-related information that he presents in terms people can understand. Today he sent a special addition of "Tourbus" focusing on Katrina. He provides links to sites about the Hurricane, about New Orleans, and about contributing to relief efforts.

Unfortunately, there are those people who attempt to use this emergency as a chance to pull off a scam. Patrick also provides some information about what to look for.

Here is the latest from "Tourbus":
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Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief
Audience: Everyone
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As you already know by now, Hurricane Katrina struck the southeastern United States early Monday morning. Up to one million people are homeless and millions more are still without power. Experts predict the hurricane will likely become the worst natural disaster in United States history.

Every major news organization in the US and many others around the world is covering this developing story, and once again our friends at Yahoo Full Coverage are on top of the story. You can find their Hurricane Katrina page at

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/World/Hurricanes_and_Tropical_Storms

This page is a collection of news articles from the AP and Reuters as well as from CNN, the Biloxi Sun Herald, the New Orleans Times- Picayune, and so on. In times of crisis, Yahoo's Full Coverage is always one of the first sites I visit.

Another helpful resource for information about Monday's hurricane and its aftermath is Wikipedia's Hurricane Katrina article at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina

A great deal of attention is also being paid to what's happening in New Orleans as we speak, and Wikipedia has a New Orleans page at

http://tinyurl.com/77exu

It is hard to look at the images from the American southeast and not want to do something to help the relief effort. The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency has a list of reputable agencies that desperately need your help:

http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_katrina.shtm#donate

Every time there is a disaster, scam artists crawl out of the woodwork.
[See http://tinyurl.com/96c2t] The United States Federal Trade Commission has a free article on how to avoid becoming a victim of charity fraud:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/charity.htm

As long as you stick to the organizations on FEMA's page, you can feel safe that your donations are going to those who truly need it the most. And on a personal note, my thoughts and prayers go out everyone impacted by this storm, especially to my friends in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.