* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Few Americans are opening up their wallets or even paying attention to news about the superstorm
BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Super Typhoon Haiyan - one of the strongest storms ever recorded - left at least 5,000 people dead and more than 4 million displaced across the ravaged central Philippines, but few Americans are opening up their wallets or even paying attention, according to a survey.
Fewer than one in three Americans (32 percent) is “very closely” following news about the typhoon, drawing less attention than the 2011 tsunami in Japan (55 percent), the Indian Ocean tsunami (58 percent) or the 2010 Haiti earthquake (60 percent), according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
The national survey, conducted Nov. 14 to 17 through telephone interviews with 1,013 adults, found that Typhoon Haiyan tied with economic news as the second-most closely followed story that week, while the Obamacare rollout was the top story, with 37 percent following it very closely.
The share of Americans donating to the Philippines is also trailing giving in the aftermath of other natural disasters: 14 percent say they have donated to storm relief efforts, compared to 52 percent giving to Haiti quake efforts.
An additional 17 percent say they plan to give to the Philippines, but two-thirds (67 percent) say they do not think they will donate right now, the survey found.
Although the number of people killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami - 226,000 - dwarves the Philippines death toll, Typhoon Haiyan has displaced more people than Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami combined, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
