· August, 2007

Stories about Disaster from August, 2007

All out war in southern Philippines

  31 August 2007

War is raging in the island of Basilan, located in the southernmost part of the Philippines. An all-out war was recently declared by the government against the Abu Sayyaf bandit group accused of beheading 14 Marines last month. The military offensives have displaced thousands of families and imperiled the peace negotiations between the government and other Muslim rebel forces.

Dominica: Fair Trade after Dean

  31 August 2007

Caribbean farmers affected by Hurricane Dean are asking Britons to continue buying Fairtrade bananas in order to help them recover. Living Dominica reports.

Barbados: Answers for Britton's Hill

  31 August 2007

Barbados Underground suggests that Barbados’ Chief Town Planner should provide some answers on the Britton's Hill tragedy: “It is not BU’s intention to engage in the blame game but we do subscribe to the notion that mistakes should be learned from and corrective steps adopted.”

Ukraine: Animal Shelter

  30 August 2007

On August 19, Ukrainian journalist Tanya Kremen paid a visit to an animal shelter located near a small town just outside Kyiv. Below are her impressions and thoughts, which she has posted on her blog at Korrespondent.net, as well as a couple of comments from her readers.

Barbados: Two Bodies Recovered

  30 August 2007

Cheese-on-bread! compares the site of the Barbados apartment building collapse to a “ground zero”, while Barbados Underground and Barbados Free Press report that two bodies (mother and son) have been recovered thus far.

Barbados: Recovery Effort Continues

  29 August 2007

It's Day 4 of the recovery effort to find the victims of the apartment building collapse in Barbados. Barbados Underground says that a significant part of the day was “spent stabilizing and preparing the cave for the extraction of the bodies of the Codrington family presumed to be dead”, while...

Peru: An Opportunity for the Country

  28 August 2007

In the aftermath of the earthquake in Peru, some bloggers have continued to wonder who is to blame for the disappearance in aid and the sensationalist nature of the coverage. However, others are looking at the disaster as an opportunity for Peruvians to look critically at themselves and at their elected officials in order to make real reforms so that this does not happen again.

Greece: On Fire

  27 August 2007

We've probably all heard it in the news by now: Greece is ablaze. Today the fires reached the ancient city of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympics and home of the Olympia Museum, which houses one of Greece's greatest archaeological collections. Athens in Flames (From flickr user alefbetac) While the...

Barbados: Apartment Building Collapses

  27 August 2007

Barbados Free Press, Barbados Underground and Pull! Push! all report on Barbados’ most recent tragedy – a young family feared dead after their apartment building collapsed into a cave.

Barbados, Jamaica: Rough Road Ahead?

  25 August 2007

“Jamaica was sailing along towards elections on August 27. Then, buddum! Nature, who has no votes, but often can be critical in how things turn out, wanted to have its say.” Caribbean Comment provides an analysis on how Hurricane Dean continues to affect Jamaican politics.

Reunion: Mild earthquake felt on the island.

  24 August 2007

At. 15:17 local time, an earthquake (3.6 on the richter scale) was felt all around the island of Reunion today. There is no report of major damages as of yet. Jonathan Gravier said he was driving in St-Denis at the time but did not feel the earthquake (Fr).

Jamaica: Surviving Dean

  24 August 2007

“It actually feels wrong to complain about the ‘agony’ of waiting 4 days to get back electricity just so that I can watch tv and surf the net. After all, there are people who survived the hurricane and are still trying to figure out where they are going to live.”...

Guyana: Flooding Expected?

  24 August 2007

“These are not freak occurrences but keep happening year after year with all kinds of excuses meted out for the cause of these floods,” says Guyana Providence Stadium, who is concerned that his countrymen “are just accepting these unnecessary floods…and taking them in stride.”

Barbados, Jamaica: Dean Winning Votes?

  24 August 2007

“Now taking advantage of disaster is a time honoured tradition amongst West Indian politicians,” writes Notes from the Margin, commenting on the impact Hurricane Dean may have on Jamaica's upcoming elections.

Russia: “Mama, We're In Hell!”

  23 August 2007

A young Russian woman traveling from Helsinki to Moscow found herself in a railway traffic jam caused by the train derailment last week. She was so horrified by the sight of the Russian countryside that she called her mother on her cell phone and told her they were stuck "in hell." The blogger who posted this story has received 469 comments from his readers.

Bahamas: Government Responsibility?

  23 August 2007

Sidney Sweeting, writing at WeblogBahamas.com, thinks Bahamians need to understand “where their own responsibilities end and the Government's responsibility begins or vice versa.”