Featured stories about Disaster
Stories about Disaster
16 January 2019
Syrian refugees in Lebanon face brutal snow storms and inhumane conditions at camps
"People are sick. Everywhere there is water. We cannot sleep at night. All night we sit and watch the kids and we cannot do anything for them."
15 December 2018
It’s official: 2018 in Japan was a ‘disaster’
Given Japan's year of natural catastrophes, the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society thought that “disaster” was a suitable symbol for 2018.
30 November 2018
Bushfires and floods have Australians asking: ‘What climate change?’
"While Queensland is burning, the east coast is parched & Sydney is drowning, most pollies [politicians] have their heads in the sand. Not good enough."
26 November 2018
Crossing the Syrian-Turkish border: risks by the hour
"They sprinted over the 50-meter stretch between the asphalt road and the mountain... 30 minutes later, the guide stopped and told them that they had just crossed the danger zone."
6 November 2018
Eastern Ghouta's displaced residents are stuck between a rock and a hard place
The displaced masses of Ghouta arrive in northern Syria tired, broken and burdened by unbearable memories and the pressure to begin their migratory lives with difficult choices.
21 October 2018
Heavy rains and flooding turned parts of Trinidad & Tobago into disaster zones
"Residents are trapped. My road is cut off completely. Not even trucks can access the highway, the water is so high.”
19 September 2018
Riverbank erosion disaster in Bangladesh leaves thousands homeless
"The devastating erosion of the Padma River is ongoing for the last couple of years, no initiative to build a dam or embankment was taken by the local administration."
11 September 2018
Strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years largely forgotten following massive earthquake
The media has struggled to cover the dizzying succession of disasters, leaving people feeling that some are eclipsing others in the public consciousness.
7 September 2018
As China faces record-breaking flood levels, authorities arrest two women for spreading ‘rumors’ of health risks
"If they could react to the floods as effectively [as they do to the 'rumors'], that would be great."
5 September 2018
Brazil grieves as its oldest treasures turn to ashes in National Museum fire
"This year, the government's total investment in the National Museum equals a quarter of what each Congressmen's budget to hire advisors."
22 August 2018
Anatomy of a Trinidad earthquake
"I was silenced, diminished and at the same time in total awe. This was nature and I understood myself to be at the very heart of it."
Water shortages weigh heavy on Afghanistan
The capital Kabul is already thirsty, and its population is set to grow by over a third in the next three decades.
21 August 2018
Netizens flood the internet with support for monsoon victims in Kerala, India
"Kerala is striving together...to overcome the catastrophic flood. However...some are trying to malign this great effort with misinformation in the form of fake messages on social media."
17 August 2018
Kerala floods: Tech-savvy Indian citizens mobilize to minimize the damage
"The spirit of unity, willpower, compassion, and dedication of thousands of volunteers belonging to state and non-state agencies in Kerala are indescribable."
1 August 2018
Death of a 12-year-old boy lays bare the plight of Iran's Ahwazi minority
Meysam's suicide is the latest to afflict the Ahwazi Arab community, a minority population who live in Iran's oil-rich south who face hardship and discrimination by the country's authorities.
12 July 2018
Questions swirl over Japanese government's response to deadly, unprecedented rains
"As unusual weather becomes the new normal, how are we to protect ourselves?"
5 July 2018
Months after the devastation of Hurricane Maria, Dominica launches a tree-planting campaign, but is it enough?
"The young farmers and even some of the older heads can't afford fertilizers and chemicals to treat our farms. Why can't the farmers be treated better in this little country?"
26 May 2018
In India, 13 people are killed after police open fire on copper plant protesters
"My Constitution...ensures my right to protest. It ensures my right to life,livelihood,safe and healthy environment. #Thoothukkudi exposes the barbaric assault on these rights."
25 May 2018
Sabika Sheikh, the Pakistani student slain in US school shooting, had wanted to bridge the two countries
"...she said...'I want to learn the American culture and I want America to learn the Pakistan culture and I want us to come together and unite,'" her host mother recalled.
15 May 2018
Will Dominica's new environment minister address post-Hurricane Maria challenges?
"At present, too many people on the island lack information about what they can expect from the recovery programme and [...] begin to make a difference in their lives."
