Google and TradeMe launch quake response site

UPDATED:  The TradeMe response site has exploded, with more than 1800 offers of emergency accommodation, 250 of volunteer labour and an entire section called 'Other' that is filled with offers of free water, medical attention, BBQs and more.  The site was launched on Wednesday after message boards were flooded with offers of aid for those affected by the Christchurch earthquake this week.

The 'Other' category has also produced some interesting offers of aid.  One is a lazy boy chair that has "some cat damage" but works fine, apparently. 

Another is a an ex-Navy chef offering to cook for a few days for anyone. 

A touchingly odd story is the auction titled 'HOW MUCH FOR MY BROKEN DISH' (caps intended) that offers a "broken little plate" up for auction.  Every cent goes to the disaster fund, and the 40th wedding anniversary momento will be sent free of charge anywhere in New Zealand.

Head of Communications and Community for TradeMe Paul Ford said the responses were "very humbling".  He said the idea started when the TradeMe staff sat down to work out how they could do something useful to help out Kiwis affected by the quake. 

He said yesterday that the website was an evolving thing that would continue to change as the aid effort continued.  "We're watching how it works, we've tweaked it today, we've added another category."  Mr Ford said the technology team at TradeMe had a list of improvements to make, and ideas were being thrown around about ways to make the site better.  "Anything is possible."

NBR advises its readers concerned with finding or offering help to visit sites directly involved in the aid effort.

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TradeMe has launched a Christchurch Earthquake Support site which lists offerings of emergency accommodation, transport, labour and any pets lost or found into handy categories. 

Members can list offers of help in each category, filling in fields on the site just as they would for selling an item. Emergency accomodation, for example, asks for a listing title, details like address and how long the accommodation is offered for. 

The response has been huge - as of this story there were 429 listings for emergency accomodation, ranging from Wanaka to Warkworth, all with an asking price of $0.  There were 73 offers of volunteer labour. 

The site also contains links to useful sites such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and TradeMe's message boards, which contain advice for quake victims.

TradeMe launched the site in response to its message boards being flooded with offers of help and questions about what to do, and what people could do to help. 

Google, meanwhile, has launched the Christchurch crisis response site that contains maps of the earthquake and affected sites, realtime updates from Twitter and other social networking sites, Youtube clips of the quake and the damage it has caused and useful resources such as links to the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management’s website. The site also contains the useful Person Finder.