Stories about Disaster from November, 2010
Russia: Leading Activist Blogger on How Internet Changes Politics
Marina Litvinovich, is one of the most influential activist bloggers in Russia. In an interview with Gregory Asmolov, she shares her vision of the future role of the Internet in Russian politics.
Pakistan: The Desperation Cards
There has been a lot of mismanagement of the donations collected for flood relief in Pakistan. The methods of distribution of reliefs and utilizing those funds for other purposes have also been questioned. One such controversial project is the "Watan Cards" project.
Venezuela: LluviasVe.com Uses Crowdsourcing to Report on Heavy Rains
LluviasVe.com [es] uses crowdsourcing to map events caused by the heavy rains in Venezuela. Users can report on floods, landslides, victims, road blocks, shelters, places to make donations and more.
Cambodia: Lessons from the Water Festival stampede
Cambodians are still mourning the death of 347 people in the stampede tragedy which happened last week at Koh Pich Bridge in Phnom Penh. Cambodian netizens share their reactions and recommendations on how to improve disaster management in the country
Korea: S.Korean Island Hit by Artillery Shots Became ‘Off-limit’
A South Korean Twitterer posted a photo of an abandoned white dog sitting on a pile of rubble of the Yeonpyeong island, a South Korean island hit last week by a North Korean artillery attack. The almost deserted island was designated as a military “control zone” today.
Brazil: Three proposals to ease Rio chaos
Bruno Cava, writing for the Amálgama blog, analyzes [pt] the current wave of violence in Rio de Janeiro's slums, and proposes three possible solutions: new policies for development and urbanization of poor areas, democratization of the criminal justice system and decriminalization of all illicit drugs.
Haiti: Election Day
Today, Haiti goes to the polls in an election that has been fraught with controversy and affected by the ongoing cholera epidemic. With the country's most popular political party being barred from contesting, some bloggers can't help but feel that today's process is really more of a “selection” than an election.
Pakistan: Russian Cargo Plane Crash In Karachi
Karachi based Dr. Awab Alvi is live tweeting a cargo plane crash in the city: “Russian Cargo Airplane on way to Sudan (Khartoum) crashed 5 minutes after take off from #Karachi Airport #Pakistan #AirCrash“
Serbia: Air India Pilot's Family Reacts to Leaked Media Report
Six months after the May 22 Mangalore plane crash, which claimed 158 lives, an investigation report blaming Serbian pilot Zlatko Glusica for the country’s worst air disaster of the last decade was leaked to media. Sasa Milosevic reviews media coverage of the case and talks to Mr. Glusica's family.
India: Fuzzy Memories
Dilip D'Souza at Kafila asks why are Indians obsessed with only remembering the act of terrorism on 26/11/08 and why not also 1/11/84 or 7/12/92?
Korea: Paulo Coelho Joined the #Prayforkorea in Twitter
After North Korea's artillery shelling on a South Korean island, killing two marines and two civilians and wounding at least a dozen people, twitterers, both local and international, have joined the #prayforkorea discusssion. Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian star writer, tweeted “On the verge of a war: Twitter can do nothing, but prayers can. #prayforkorea #importantnews”
Haiti: Football Funds to Help Earthquake Recovery
Repeating Islands reports that Haiti's earthquake recovery effort will benefit from proceeds of the 8th Annual [Football] Match Against Poverty, to be held on December 15 in Greece.
Cambodia: Stampede tragedy during Water Festival
It was the last hour of the last day of the Water Festival in Cambodia. Then a stampede tragedy over a bridge connecting a reclaimed island to the mainland killed more than 300 people. Here are eyewitness accounts and other blog reactions.
South Korea: Twitterers Mourn Over Loss of Two Marines
South Korean Twitterers mourned over the death of two marines who were killed by today's deadly skirmish between two Koreas, by (re)tweeting a photo of chrysanthemums with the deceased names on.
North Korea fires on South Korea, Security Camera Shows
One South Korean soldier has been killed after North Korea fired dozens of rounds of artillery onto YeonPyeong Island, the South Korean populated island bordering North. Twitterers have retweeted KBS's security camera footage[ko]of the scene.
St. Lucia: Struggling After Tomas
“What struck me…as it poured down again today…the soil was so thoroughly soaked by those 23+ inches that fell 3 weeks ago that the rain has no-where to go, the soil is full, floods are instant, landslips continuing”: Sun Rain Or… says that the harsh wet season, coming on the...
China: Messages behind the flowers to the Shanghai fire victims
Yesterday, thousands of mourners in Shanghai flocked to the 28-storey apartment block that was gutted by a tragic fire on November 15 to pay their respects for the 58 residents who perished. Much of China's headlines today focus on the collective mourning, but few have highlighted the messages behind citizens' insistence in offering flowers at the disaster site.
Sri Lanka: Floods In Colombo
Photoblogger Minaali Haputantri captures the scenes of the recent floods in Colombo.
Vietnam: Flooding in Hoi An
Adam Bray posts pictures of the recent flooding in the UNESCO World Heritage Town of Hoi An, in central Vietnam.
China: thousands gather at site of Shanghai fire
Early reports coming in from Twitter say that thousands are gathering at the site of Monday's deadly fire in Shanghai that claimed 58 lives. Coverage in Chinese and English can be followed by using the hashtag #jiaozhoulu (the name of the road the building is located on).
Haiti: Anti-UN Protests Escalate Over Cholera Epidemic
Three days after the first case of cholera was diagnosed in Haiti, The Life and Times of the Mangine Many posted on its blog: Seriously? Cholera? I literally thought cholera ended with westward expansion. And now, of all places it is here in Haiti. So far 138 dead. The outbreak...
