· August, 2009

Stories about Disaster from August, 2009

Japan: We will not forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki

  30 August 2009

64 years ago, on the 6th and the 9th of August, atomic bombs were dropped by the U.S. forces on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over 200,000 people died and every year, ceremonies are held to commemorate those victims and to remind humanity of the horrors of war and of the use...

Russia: Two Photos of Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam

  29 August 2009

LJ user drugoi visits Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric dam, posts two photos and writes (RUS) about the colossal damage done to the facility on Aug. 17: “It seems that it's easier to build a new power plant than to clear up the huge amount of deformed metal and restore the turbine hall.”

Taiwan: Post-typhoon reconstruction attracts criticism

  26 August 2009

After Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan earlier this month claiming hundreds of lives and making thousands homeless, the government is pushing forward a recovery plan. Michael Turton writes that the Ma government's post-typhoon reconstruction plan is a shock doctrine.

Sri Lanka: Citizen Media Contest

  25 August 2009

Sri Lankan citizen journalism initiative Groundviews announced a new competition “aimed at encouraging more citizen journalism on two vital issues confronting polity and society in post-war Sri Lanka – the conditions facing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and growing reports of Police brutality”, informs ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) blog.

India: A wave of suicides among farmers

  25 August 2009

Increasingly, Indian farmers are resorting to extreme measures, including suicide, to escape complex problems of poverty, crop failure and growing debt. Indian bloggers analyze the situation.

Taiwan: A Hug for Taiwan

  20 August 2009

Beeside made (zh)a video of his “free hug for Taiwan” campaign after he saw so many tragedies caused by the flood everyday (translation): “At the beginning, it was like other netizens said, people there were merely watching, no one dared to give me a hug. But this situation did not...

Barbados: BICO Fire

  19 August 2009

Barbadian bloggers are concerned about a factory fire, both from economic and safety standpoints.

Bangladesh: On Food Security

  19 August 2009

Duncan Chowdhury informs that the food supply situation of Bangladesh is more or less quite secure as the country never had to import food grains more than 15% of the total domestic production. The only concern is proper management of the food production and supply during natural calamities like droughts,...

Russia: Two Jets Collide at Air Show

  16 August 2009

Two Russian Su-27 fighters collided Sunday near Zhukovsky airfield during a rehearsal for the MAKS-2009 air show, killing Col. Igor Tkachenko, the commander of the Russian Knights flying group, and crashing into summer houses. LJ users pompeya, kpoxaxa, and mfirishka have posted a few photos (RUS) from the site of...

Taiwan: Criticisms of government response to floods

  15 August 2009

Following the terrible flooding from Typhoon Morakot there has been widespread criticisms of the Central Government for its slow response. Claudia Jean has written two posts detailing some of the failures of the Central Government: Part 1 and Part 2. The View from Taiwan looks at criticism of President Ma...

India: Swine Flu Scare

  14 August 2009

In India, the Swine flu deaths rose to twenty from ten in a matter of a couple of days. But panic is spreading more than the virus itself.

India: Hit By Swine Flu

  13 August 2009

As the number of deaths from Swine Flu in India crossed 20, fear has crept in among the inhabitants of the Maharashtra state. The South Asia blog opines that: “if this kind of situation continues then many people would become afraid and it will hurt the Indian economy a lot.”