Stories about Disaster from March, 2010
Jamaica, Haiti: Art Aid
Art to help Haiti: Jamaican Annie Paul has the low-down.
Chile: The Process of Earthquake Reconstruction
Exactly a month after the devastating earthquake in Chile, President Sebastián Piñera announced a reconstruction plan for the country’s infrastructure and housing, prompting Chileans to provide opinions about how this process should be implemented and monitored.
Peru: Alarmist Report on Possible Earthquake in Lima
A recent report by the Peruvian Civil Defense finds that if an earthquake struck the capital city of Lima that 51,000 people would die. Blogger Juan Sheput of Mate Pastor [es] criticizes the report calling it “alarmist” and “incomplete” for not thoroughly explaining its methodology and for not taking into...
Pakistan: Prayers For Moscow
“Prayers for #Moscow from #Lahore – there are no words that will lessen your grief.” tweets Mars On Earth from Pakistan as reported in Lahore Metblogs.
Kazakhstan: Bloggers claim lack of state aid to flood victims
After a mudflow killed dozens of people in the villages south-east of Kazakhstan on March 11, many fear that other dams across the country may cause much harsher disasters in case of bursting.
Chile: Curicó Province One Month After Earthquake
One month after the Chilean earthquake, Luis Alberto Cabello of the blog Vivimos la Noticia [es] takes a look at the Curicó province, one of the hardest hit areas. He highlights some of the dramatic stories that have emerged including the one of a 13-year-old boy who survived after withstanding...
Ukraine: Fire Destroys 20% of Hosting.ua Servers
Some 20% of the servers at Odessa-based Hosting.ua data center – one of the biggest in Ukraine – are reported to have been destroyed in a fire on March 27. UkrainianWatcher writes (UKR) that “tens of thousands of Ukrainian and a number of Russian sites are currently offline” and re-posts...
Chile: Firsthand video account of Tsunami waves in Pichilemu
The force and unexpected nature of a tsunami wave can be seen in the following video. It shows a group of friends walking on the debris strewn beach of Pichilemu, a resort town in central Chile, observing the previous tsunami's damage when they get caught in the rapidly rising waters....
Philippines: Post-earthquake reactions on Twitter
A 6.1 intensity earthquake rocked Manila and nearby provinces in the Philippines a few hours ago. Twitterers continue to share their experience and observations.
Bangladesh: Disappearing Islands
Reacting on the news that disputed South Talpatti island in the Bay of Bengal has submerged due to sea level rise, Mohammad Farhan Husain writes about the bleak future of Bangladesh in the face of global warming.
Philippines: Earthquake near Manila
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake was felt near Manila, Philippines. Earthquake is now a trending topic on twitter.
Haiti: Social Media Speaking
Jamaal Bell writes for The Huffington Post on how social media is helping Haitians share their stories post-earthquake.
Madagascar Update: Death Toll from Tropical Storm Hubert now at 78
Tomavana writes that official report have raised the death toll from Tropical Storm Hubert in Madagascar from 36 last week to 78 and affected 145,000 people. He adds that health experts on site fear an outbreak of Chikungunya because of the flood (fr).
Ukraine: Tons of Fish Die; Fishing Enthusiasts Start Grassroots Campaign
Hundreds of tons of fish were trapped and crushed to death by the ice, after Ukrainian authorities abruptly lowered the level of water in the Kyiv Reservoir. A group of Ukrainian fishing enthusiasts reacted by launching a grassroots campaign to ensure that further damage is avoided and the government takes steps to restore the ecosystem of the reservoir.
Haiti: Debt Forgiveness
Repeating Islands links to a Business Week report that confirms the Inter-American Development Bank “has agreed to forgive $479 million in debts owed by quake-ravaged Haiti”.
Haiti: Mourning relatives and coping with legal ordeals
Haitian blogger Espas Aysien writes a post [Fr] focusing on the difficulty for Haitians to mourn the death of hundreds of thousands relatives in Port-au-Prince and neighboring cities.
Haiti: Reconstruction for Haitians or with Haitians
Haitian Alterpresse republishes a letter [Creole] from Haitian social organisations which openly criticise the Donor's Conference which took place in the Dominican Republic on March 17th. According to them, it will not lead to a long-term development project nor include the population in the reconstruction scheme. Here is the French...
Bangladesh: Mobile Based Donations
Shehzaad Shams at Bangladesh Corporate Blog suggests with examples that mobile phone based programs for collecting donation can work for Bangladeshi NGOs.
Kazkahstan: Flood and the government
KZBlog reports on the aftermath of the flood in Kazakhstan, saying that corruption might have been the main reason for the tragedy.
Ukraine: Fundraising Effort to Help Street Children
Scenes from the Sidewalk announces – here and here – a fundraising effort for CrossRoads Foundation: “If you want to be a part of a group of people who are doing amazing work with street and at risk children in Ukraine, please consider helping us raise money.”
Chile: Tu Sunami jabs at President, quakes and aftershocks
From Chile, a video mashup by tintoweno mixes McHammer, Storm Troopers and the Chilean president Sebastián Piñera as comic relief: adding humor to the tense situation lived in Chile as they still experience very strong aftershocks after the February 27th 8.8 earthquake. The video's name, Tu Sunami refers the President's ...
