severedtoe: if you want to help, be careful.  grifters have already set up shop.
go to charity navigator  they can help weed out the scam charities

Agreed. Sending money is usually preferable to goods as it allows organizations to focus on what is needed now, not worry about shipping/storage, as well as potentially spend in the disaster zone to help businesses and their employees recover. Donate to established charities that have a track record, not something new that has a good name. Charity Navigator is an excellent resource to help you determine the legitimacy organization and how money is spent.  Also, don't overlook the fact that this will take billions/trillions to rebuild/recover so the need for aid will be ongoing if you can't donate presently.  Just make sure your sending it to a reputable organization so your money helps those in need.

deadsanta: Listened to an NPR on the ground report, they thought they were going to be watching a young man get rescued from a collapsed building because he was signaling he was alive at the start of the interview, to his mother and brother.  By the end of the live report, things had gone badly moving the debris, his mother and brother were wailing inconsolably and the news crew decided to "let the family grieve and move further into the city."

Farking gutting way to start my morning drive.

Recovery from a pancaked building is incredibly tough. Without the proper equipment and knowledge removing a piece can easily shift the structure and cause the void spaces the survivors are in to collapse. Sadly in the race against time (especially with the cold temperatures) you have to risk the rapid recovery due to the lack of equipment and skilled engineers and the thousands of potential victims requiring rescue. Even in the ideal circumstances with the proper equipment and personnel it can still go wrong due to the nature of a rubble pile, aftershocks, and just plain bad luck. Sadly the bad outcomes will likely vastly outnumber the successful rescues, so cherish the good stories in this grim aftermath.

wax_on: cyberspacedout: The article has increased the number to over 11,500. I have a feeling it'll get much worse.

Yup. Seen estimates of 50k. There were a lot of people who they'll never find.

When combined with Syrian losses (which are probably vastly underreported due to the civil war making official figures more difficult) I wouldn't be surprised if we hit 6 figures.  This was just a vulnerable location and time of day for such strong quakes for this not to be one of the more devasting quakes in modern history.