Stories about Disaster from May, 2009
Cyclone Aila, Another Blow to Bangladesh
Although cyclone Aila, which had battered the Southern parts of Bangladesh recently, was not powerful, it had done much damage causing tidal waves in the coastal areas. “Aila swept away...
Pakistan: Bloggers On Swat Relief Drive
The Observers features Pakistani blogger Teeth Maestro's humanitarian relief efforts for the IDPs in Swat region.
Honduras: Strong Earthquake Shakes Country
Honduras awoke early in the morning of May 28 when an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale shook the country. Five deaths were confirmed, more injured, and slowly there is the discovery of damages to the country's infrastructure like buildings, bridges, and highways. Microblogging platforms like Blipea and Twitter were the first to report the earthquake from users in San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa and La Ceiba. However, some bloggers were unable to update their sites due to electrical and internet outages all across the country.
Honduras: 7.1 Scale Earthquake Hits
A 7.1 scale earthquake has hit Honduras. Janpedrano [es] writes about communicating with friends and family around the country through internet, SMS, and telephone making sure that they were alright.
Bangladesh, India: No To Tipaimukh Dam
The Tipaimukh Hydroelectric Project is being constructed near the confluence of Barak and Tuivai rivers, in Manipur, India and within 100km of Bangladesh border. The project will submerge a huge portion of land, thereby making thousands of people homeless and threatening the habitats of Indigenous population in India. The downstream neighbor Bangladesh will also face severe environmental and economic consequences.
Pakistan: Another Suicide Attack In Lahore
Lahore Metblogs reports that 10 people have been killed and close to 100 people were injured as yet another suicide attack was launched in Lahore targeting a police building. Five...
Bangladesh: Cyclone Aila Relief Efforts
The death toll from the destruction of cyclone Aila, which wreaked havoc in India and Bangladesh, is rising and more than 150 people had died in Bangladesh alone. The tidal...
India: Cyclone Aila Strikes
Scores of people were killed and many injured in India and Bangladesh as cyclone Aila made a downfall in the region earlier today. Sukanya at Notes from wherever I happen...
Haiti: Flooding Claims Lives
Repeating Islands reports that “at least 11 people died…in Haiti after torrential rains triggered floods throughout the nation.”
Influenza A(H1N1) cases in Southeast Asia
Several Southeast Asian countries have confirmed that some of their citizens have tested positive for Influenza A(H1N1) infection. The region is no longer swine flu-free. Bloggers react as the virus continues to spread from one country to another.
Russia: Spiderman in Moscow
A sighting of Spiderman in Moscow – by IZO, via LJ user mrparker.
Sri Lanka: Abuse, Disbelief And Bitterness Persist
The Sri Lankan government's civil war for over 25 years against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended a few days ago when the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed. The question remains that "has the dream of many Tamils of having a separate state free from discrimination died with him?". The polarized Sri Lankan Blogosphere is buzzing with a lot of analysis and counter analysis on the stories of celebrating the end of war, human rights abuse, distrust and communal hatred.
India: Aid Collection For Sri Lankan IDPs
Madhat at Blogbharati informs about an effort by some Indians to collect aid from various Indian cities to help the IDPs (internally displaced people) in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan: Relief Effort For IDPs In Karachi
Deadpan Thoughts writes about the relief efforts for Swat IDPs being carried out in Karachi. Pictures of relief collection are also posted in that article.
Pakistan: A Humanitarian Crisis
Pakistan has been hit by a severe humanitarian crisis as a result of the military onslaught against the Taliban insurgency in the Swat Valley. Over one million people have fled their homes from various areas in the Malakand division and FATA including Buner, Dir and Swat. A massive relief effort has been launched by many organizations and individuals and the Pakistani Blogosphere is also taking a leading role to seek help for the IDPs.
Sri Lanka: Concern For The IDPs
Musings from Toronto comments: “Whether the pro-LTTE diaspora's fear of the Sri Lankan Government is ludicrous or otherwise; their concern for the displaced civilians is certainly one I support.”
Indonesia: Army plane crash
An Indonesian army plane carrying more than 100 passengers crashed in East Java. Twitter user ari197 comments: “Indonesian soldier is dying not because of war but because of old device/weapons/planes/ships.”
Sri Lanka: Priorities After The War
A Voice In Colombo discusses about the two priorities Sri Lanka needs to address after the end of civil war; helping the IDPs and taking care of the injured veterans...
China: Future school safety, but not the past
David Bandurski from China Media Project looked into the education ministry's recent project on “secondary and primary school safety” and noticed that there was no mention at all of the...
Sri Lanka: Bloggers react to the death of the LTTE leader
The government of Sril Lanka announced via state media and SMS today (Monday, May 18, 2009) afternoon that the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Vellupillai Prabhakaran, is dead. Obituaries of Prabhakaran note that he was a hero to some and a ruthless killer to others. Sri Lankan Bloggers lament on the legacy of this war lord and what his demise means for the future of the Tamil people and Sri Lanka.
Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar: A Year After
A deadly cyclone hit Myanmar’s southern Irrawaddy delta in May 2008 which affected more than 2 million people. A year after the Cyclone Nargis tragedy, survivors are still suffering while reconstruction efforts remain inadequate. Contributions are still needed in order to help the cyclone survivors.
