· August, 2011

Stories about Disaster from August, 2011

Puerto Rico: Tropical Storm Irene Leaves Heavy Rain and Damages

  27 August 2011

Tropical storm Irene hit Puerto Rico on August 21st leaving wind damage, floods, constant rain, and the evacuation of entire communities. This is the same storm, now a hurricane, that is hitting the United States east coast. The online community has posted videos of the aftermath of tropical storm Irene in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico: My Life with Irene

  27 August 2011

Writer Mayra Santos Febres narrates her storm story: “Gasping and Sweating Post-Irene” [es]: “There have been so many rainy days that I have lost count of how infrequent are the days with sun.”

Bahamas: Riding Out Hurricane Irene

  25 August 2011

As Hurricane Irene, the first of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, continues to move through the Bahamas, bloggers have been sharing their experiences. Netizens reported very strong winds, extensive damage to property, felled trees and downed power lines. Several roofs were blown off and there were reports of flooding in certain areas.

Somalia: Food Security Emergency Spreads Despite Aid

  25 August 2011

As the Horn of Africa deals with what the Food and Agriculture Organization is calling the “most severe food security emergency in the world today,” experts warn that conditions in famine-stricken Somalia are likely to further deteriorate. Juhie Bhatia examines the spread of the disaster.

Peru: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Jungle Region

  24 August 2011

Juan Arellano –Global Voices author and Spanish Translation Manager– is updating a Storify post [es] with Twitter reactions to a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the Peruvian jungle near the border with Brazil. The earthquake was felt in most of Peru and in parts of Ecuador and Brazil.

Haiti: Grim Housing Situation

  23 August 2011

Haiti Grassroots Watch investigates whether “the 634,000 people still living in Haiti’s 1,001 camps, and the undoubtedly tens of thousands of others living in unsafe and even condemned structures [will] soon move to safe housing” and discovers an upsetting answer.

Bangladesh: Tragic Deaths Puts the Spotlight on Road Safety

  15 August 2011

The untimely death of award-winning film director Tareque Masud and internationally renowned cameraman and TV journalist Ashfaque Munier Mishuk in a road accident has shocked Bangladeshis. Netizens are mourning their death and are asking questions about the road safety on Bangladeshi highways.

Pakistan: The Plights Of The Flood Victims

  12 August 2011

Faisal Kapadia blogs from a medical camp for the flood affected people in Khowrah of Sindh province in Pakistan and comments: “although the floods of last year may be over and long gone, the human tragedy remains.”

Japan: Chaos at Chitose Airport on March 11

  11 August 2011

On March 11, 2011, a Delta airplane pilot approaching Tokyo airport described his experience of an emergency landing in an email so vividly, that it spread rapidly across the blogosphere. Aviation fan blogger BUTA_NEKO responded to the meme in Japanese, to tell the other side of the story.

Japan: “Plutonium is safe,” they say

  11 August 2011

Youtube user tokyobrowntabby has translated into English the video clips of three Japanese nuclear researchers who claimed safety for plutonium in a TV show. A blogger at EX-SKF – who nicknamed the researchers the “Three Plutonium Brothers” – posted the transcript [en] of their speeches.

Haiti: Jobs Needed for Progress

  10 August 2011

Love Haiti suggests that “the hardships facing Haiti today may be compared to the Great Depression of the United States”, explaining: “The point of this analogy is simply to state that school/education should not be at the top of Haiti's agenda, a country confronted with a housing crisis, an unprecedented...

United Kingdom: Time for #RiotCleanup in London?

  9 August 2011

After extensive looting and rioting across London and other cities in the United Kingdom since Saturday night, ordinary citizens are now looking for ways to help their cities heal. On Tuesday morning the hashtags #prayforlondon and #riotcleanup have overtaken #londonriots on Twitter.