Stories about Disaster from May, 2010
Azerbaijan: Animal rights
Thoughts. Dreams. Visions. Nightmares. Me. reports on an action staged in support of animal rights in Azerbaijan. The blog says that the event held close to Baku's Zoo was a welcome event and centered on the need to create a special center to cater for stray animals. However, it also...
Guatemala: State of Emergency Due to Tropical Storm Agatha
Guatemala is in a state of emergency. In addition to the active Pacaya volcano that has caused evacuations and damages, Tropical Storm Agatha has hit the country, causing many disappearances and deaths in the poorest regions.
Ecuador: Tungurahua Volcano Erupts and Spreads Ash
In Ecuador, the Mama Tungurahua volcano erupted on Friday, May 28 canceling school classes, closing the international airport, forcing some residents to evacuate their towns, and spreading ash all across the region.
Oil spill disaster in Singapore
A ship collision in Singapore Strait caused the spilling of 2,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea. Singapore netizens are using the web to monitor and document the marine disaster and to call for volunteers in the cleanup drive.
Guatemala: Pacaya Volcano Causes State of National Calamity
Regions in Guatemala have been declared by President Colom in "state of calamity" after the Pacaya volcano increased its activity: the airport is closed, villages have been evacuated, people are missing and injured and one camera man is dead.
Hungary: Bloggers’ Photo and Video Reports on the Flood
The floods of the past weeks affecting Central and Eastern Europe are not over yet, and below are some of the photo and video reports by Hungarian bloggers from areas affected by the natural disaster.
Russia: Coalmine Disaster Victims’ Families vs Thugs?
Vadim Nikitin comments on “this week’s unprecedented measure to provide each widow of the [May 9] mine explosion victims with police protection to ward off attacks from organised criminals after their compensation payouts.”
Cape Verde: Using an Online Tool to Fight Dengue
The Government of Cape Verde is using the internet as a powerful tool to fight dengue [pt]. By creating an epidemiological watch online through which it is possible to insert every new case on a database as soon as it is discovered, they are able to assist and help areas...
India: Outrage At Mangalore Plane Crash
An Air-India Express plane arriving from Dubai has crashed in Mangalore Bajpe airport in south India, killing most of the 166 people on board. It is the first major crash in India for some years, but many bloggers and Twitter users are not surprised at the news.
Sri Lanka: Emergency Flood Relief
In Sri Lanka thousands of people are affected by the recent heavy rains and flashfloods especially in the western, southern and Sabaragamuwa provinces. Sarvodaya blog has the situation reports and information about relief, aid and assistance.
Egypt: No Longer Jewel of the Nile
Four of the seven upstream Nile Basin Initiative countries have decided to sign a new Nile deal. Despite strong Egyptian and Sudanese opposition, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia signed a new water-sharing agreement. Egyptian bloggers react to the news in this post by Marwa Rakha.
Czech Republic: Update on the Flooding
The Czech Daily Word links to photos and news updates on the floods in the Czech Republic.
Sri Lanka: When To Settle The Political Score?
Dayapala Thiranagama at Groundviews attempts to make some observations on the difficulties of political resolution of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and wonders when it will be settled.
Poland: Annual flood causes annual problems
Michał of the Polski blog reflects upon the annual spring flood in Poland again submerging tracts of the country, and Polandian posts pictures from Kraków, the country's second city, illustrating the situation.
“Black Planet Award” goes to…Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan
“The Formosa Plastics Group is the world’s largest manufacturer of PVC, its CO2 emissions constitute one quarter of all emissions in Taiwan and with its special dispensations from the government and close cooperation with officials the tax rates for three of the major FPG companies pay less than 10% taxes...
Russia: Photos Flood in Moscow
Alexey Yushenkov posts pictures of the flood on one of the central streets in Moscow. He also gives pictures of the same situation in 2006. Other pictures of the flood available here and here.
Chile: The Rebirth After the Earthquake Tragedy
The 2010 Global Voices Citizen Media Summit sought to engage Chilean bloggers through a blogging competition organized in collaboration with the organization OCD Iberoamérica. Here is the winning post written by Isidora Barroso.
Sri Lanka: Drainage Problem In Colombo
Kanishka Ratnapriya at GroundViews posts some pictures showing the inundations in different parts of Colombo after two hours of rain, and questions the faulty drainage system of the capital of Sri Lanka.
Russia: Coal Miners Block the Railroad
Desperate coal miners in Mezhdurechensk [EN] (Kemerovo region, Siberia) blocked the Transsiberian Railroad and were suppressed by the police (video here [RUS] and here [RUS]). Miners claim that the official data on the casualties in the May 9 Raspadskaya mine explosion [EN] were underestimated. Their official appeal is here [RUS]....
Netherlands: Twitter campaign against violation of privacy
Dutch internet users have started a campaign on Twitter (@telegraafboycot) to boycott the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf [nl] after it violated the privacy of the sole survivor of the plane crash in Tripoli by interviewing the little boy by phone. The hashtag is #telegraafboycot.
Haiti: Help or Hindrance?
The Haitian Blogger asks: “Why does a country with one of the lowest crime rates in the Western Hemisphere need 9,000+ UN troops, US troops and 4.4 million dollars for prisons?”
