The British Red Cross has released nearly a quarter of a million pounds from its disaster fund to ensure immediate help is given to victims of the Haiti disaster.

A plane carrying over 5,000 blankets, 1,100 hygiene kits and 900 kitchen sets have been sent to the people on the island, many of whom have been made homeless.

Efforts to help Haiti in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake have blitzed charity websites, with Oxfam, Unicef, Care International, British Red Cross, Tearfund and Concern Worldwide all launching emergency appeals online.

Each charity has “donate now” buttons on their website’s homepages for the appeal effort. An Oxfam spokeswoman said “millions” will be needed for their emergency response.

The Disasters Emergency Committee is yet to launch an appeal. It was assessing the situation as Civil Society went to press.

The extent of the devastation is still unclear but local officials are reporting a catastrophe of major proportions. Thousands are feared dead, millions are affected, and major buildings - such as the presidential palace - have collapsed.  

Virgin Unite has also launched an appeal online; as has Global Giving UK which according to its website has already raised £2,467 from 20 donors.

The British Red Cross is fundraising as part of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) – an umbrella organisation of 13 leading UK charities which come together in times of major crisis.

A number of companies and organisations have made very generous donations to the British Red Cross and DEC appeals, including GlaxoSmithKline who have funded the deployment of a mass sanitation emergency response unit to Haiti, AstraZeneca, Barclays, Tesco, Vodafone, Nomura, Freemasons Grand Charity and the City of London Corporation.

(Additional reporting from Stefan Marseglia)