# Traffic to charities' websites jumped 800% following tsunami disaster

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2005/01/26/traffic-charities039-websites-jumped-800-following-tsunami-disaster/
- Published: 2005-01-26T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Online traffic analysis service Hitwise UK reports that, following the tsunami disaster
on 26 December 2004, traffic to charities’ (or “humanitarian”) websites grew by 
more than 800% in four days.
Hitwise UK reports that the large number of visitors
to UK charities’ sites at the end of December 2004 resulted in those sites accounting
for 0.4% of all UK Internet traffic by 30 December, up from 0.05% on 26 December.

Hitwise added that “the website of the UK’s Disaster Emergency Committee… was the
most visited charity website with almost 30% share of all visits made to charity
websites. “

The analysts added that “the appeal for donations to the crisis resulted in the 
website increasing its ranking by over 120 places in the space of seven days, from
the week ending December 25 to January 1”.

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However, Hitwise UK point out that at first the DEC site could not cope: “the overwhelming
response to the appeal resulted in people having difficulty making donations online
and instead visitors were advised to make a donation by telephone.”

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