The International Red Cross Committee (ICRC), which has already raised over $90 million for the tsunami disaster relief, has launched a Website to help people obtain information about family members in the disaster zone.

“People in the affected countries can register on the site to inform their families that they are safe and well, and families can consult the list of people who have registered. It is also possible to search for names of relatives,” the ICRC said. The site is in English and is at www.familylinks.icrc.org. The ICRC is concentrating its relief efforts on Sri Lanka and the Indonesian province of Aceh, areas where it had a strong presence before the catastrophe.

Meanwhile, United Way International, United Way of America and local United affiliates are working together on tsunami relief. The leading charity has created the United Way South Asia Response Fund. “While the need for immediate relief is crucial to short-term recovery efforts in the region, United way hopes there will also be generous support for rebuilding the infrastructure of which these fragile fishing and tourist economies rely,” United said in a press release.

Also joining in the relief effort is UJA Federation of New York which has set up a special emergency mailbox. “We cannot sit by. This disaster calls for our immediate support, so we are asking that peopletheir hearts and make a contribution to this special effort,” said Morris W. Offit, president, UJA-Federation of New York. “These compassionate gifts will help aid workers on the ground provide emergency supplies to the countless survivors who face starvation, homelessness and rampant disease.”

Cable company Comcast has pledged $ 100,000 to tsunami relief through the Comcast Foundation. The money is being sent to the Red Cross. A Comcast press release said the company had also pledged $10 million in cable advertising to relief agencies. As part of its effort to bring its South Asian audiences up-to-date on the news of the disaster and aftermath, Comcast is offering TV Asia and Zee TV available to even those who do not currently subscribe to them. TV Asia will be available on channel 665 and Zee on 666 to Comcast customers in North Jersey for a specially extended period, the company said.

(Compiled from news dispatches M. Chooki)