Stories about Disaster from April, 2009
Azerbaijan: Last day of April
Sheki, Azerbaijan comments on today's massacre of at least 13 students at a university in Baku and says that the end of April will now live on in the collective memory of the country as the day when the children of some families never came home.
Bhutan: Flood Threat
Tshering Tobgay reports that the river Gotu-chu, a tributary of the Pho-chu river had swollen which could trigger a possible flood downstream along the Pho-chu and Punasang-chu rivers in Bhutan. The blogger comments: “We now know that we are ‘not prepared’ to handle a flood in Punasang-chu.”
Caribbean: When Pigs Fly?
The idiom "when pigs fly" is not a popular one in the Caribbean these days as regional bloggers, like the rest of the world, keep a close eye on the Swine Flu threat.
China: A citizen campaign to reveal the forgotten dead
从车上下来的高举冲锋枪的警察高喊“把手举起来，原地不要动”这个只有大片中才有的场景让我有些不知所措。 The police rushing down from the car with a sub machine gun at hand shouted at me, ‘put your hands up, freeze!’ It was so astonishing a scene that I had only seen at American blockbuster. In his blog, Li Peifeng so recalled his encounter with the police in...
Ukraine: Chernobyl
Ukrainiana‘s Chernobyl anniversary post is here: “We remember.”
Afghanistan: Bombings in Kandahar
Joshua Foust reports that three suicide bombers have struck the provincial governor’s compound in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Ukraine: More on Chernobyl Photo Exhibit
More pictures from Michael Forster Rothbart‘s Chernobyl photo exhibit in Kyiv
Ukraine: Chernobyl – Michael Forster Rothbart's Photos; Mohamed Makhzangi's Book
The Uncataloged Museum reports on the opening of Michael Forster Rothbart‘s Chernobyl photo exhibit in Kyiv. Bint Battuta in Bahrain reviews Mohamed Makhzangi's Memories of a Meltdown; the book's author, an Egyptian, happened to be on a post-doctoral medical fellowship in the Soviet Union in 1986: “The first section of...
Sri Lanka: The Pros And Cons Of International Attention
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are holding on to to just a sliver of land in the north of Sri Lanka, but the United Nations is estimating that 50,000 people are still trapped in the warzone. As fighting surges in the final throes, concerns for civilians is growing and calls for international attention and understanding abound on the Internet and in the streets of cities around the world, such as London, Berlin and Paris.
Ukraine: Chernobyl Photo Exhibit
The 23rd anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe is in two days, and Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog posts a press release for Michael Forster Rothbart‘s photo exhibit that opens in Kyiv today – “Inside Chernobyl: life goes on.”
Ukraine: Ceramics Museum; Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
The Uncataloged Museum reports on a trip to the National Museum of Ukrainian Ceramics in the village of Opishne, in the Poltava region. Chernobyl and Eastern Europe posts a 2006 video from a Pripyat.com editor's trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
Jamaica: Hostages Released
Breaking news in Jamaica this morning is that a hostage situation has developed with the crew of a Canadian jet at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Canadian mainstream media is since reporting that the situation was resolved without any loss of life when "an anti-terrorism unit of the Jamaican military stormed the plane and disarmed the gunman", but bloggers Caribbean-wide and throughout the diaspora are still in disbelief.
Kazakhstan: Blackout in Almaty
Last Wednesday, April 15, due to damage of the high-voltage power line Toktogul-Frunze (the largest line in the Kyrgyz Republic), most enterprises and even strategic buildings in towns of the northern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan were in blackout. The supply of gas and hot water has been suspended, ATMs were...
Kyrgyzstan: Serious Emergency at the Kyrgyz Electric Linesna
Elena posts some facts about yesterday’s electrical blackout in Kyrgyzstan.
Bangladesh: Bijli Strikes
Tropical cyclonic storm Bijli (01B) is making a landfall in the Southern coasts of Bangladesh. The 3rd world view has the updates.
China: Wuhan government building on fire
Here is a twitpic on the fire happened in Wuhan government building today (April 16). A number of tweets said that the news had to be down played, so far all the reports very brief and there are very few photos circulating online.
Ukraine: “New Safe Confinement” for Chernobyl
Chernobyl and Eastern Europe posts “a short video showing the design of the New Safe Confinement structure that is designed to cover the original Sarcophagus and remains of Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant”: “Work on the New Safe Confinement is still considered to be on schedule.”
Palestine: Health Issues On Film
Eva Bartlett, a Canadian activist in Gaza, reports on a short documentary competition held to mark World Health Day, highlighting health issues Gazans face, and medical care during attacks.
Sri Lanka: Plights Of The IDPs
Laksundara at Groundviews describes the plights of the IDPs (internally displaced persons) who fled their homes during the recent civil war in the Northern areas of Sri Lanka.
Pakistan: No Respite
Adil Najam at All Things Pakistan reports that troubles are brewing all over Pakistan. Quetta is burning due to riots, violence spreads in Balochistan and Karachi is tensed due to the clashes in the Shanaakht Festival 2009 – no respite for Pakistan.
Indonesia: Lessons from the dam tragedy
Love Ely shares some thoughts on why the Situ Gintung dam collapsed in Indonesia. He also proposes that those who live in disaster-prone areas should prepare for an emergency response system.
