· May, 2012

Stories about Disaster from May, 2012

Kazakhstan: 12 Border Guards Found Dead After a Blaze

Following reports that 12 border guards have been found dead in a burnt-out frontier post in southeastern Kazakhstan [ru] and the lack of immediate reaction from the authorities, local blogger Almazinho1978 writes [ru]: “At the very least, they could have declared a period of official mourning… My condolences to the relatives...

Qatar: Deadly Blaze in Shopping Mall

On May 28 a fire broke out at Doha's Villaggio Mall, leaving 19 dead, 13 of whom were children. The children were trapped in a nursery within the mall, and they and four teachers died of smoke inhalation. Two firefighters died as they attempted to rescue them.

Palestine: Remembering the Nakba

May 15 is Nakba Day, when Palestinians commemorate the displacement and dispossession that took place at the time of Israel's establishment in 1948. In this post we look at how the day was marked by Palestinians on blogs and Twitter this year.

Peru: Iquitos Faces Aftermath of Record Floods

  23 May 2012

Reported floods swept the Amazon region in Peru for more than a month, reaching and bypassing the record height of floods recorded in the past. They have now slowly begun to recede. In this post we share citizen videos, photos and reports about the after effects of these floods.

Bulgaria: The Strongest Earthquake Since 1917

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake, the strongest since 1917, shook Bulgaria's capital Sofia and the perimeter zone of around 100 km last night, followed by a number of strong aftershocks. No victims have been reported so far. The website Earthquake Reports has published live updates and social networks such as Twitter...

Mayotte: Capsizing Boat Kills at Least 5 Economic Refugees

  21 May 2012

Malango Actualité provides the social context [fr] related to the sinking of a boat  that killed at least 5, including 3 children and an infant. The fishing boat was carrying 43 people from Comoros to the French territory of Mayotte. It is the third disaster  of such kind in 2012 for Comoran...

Paraguay: How the Media Silenced the Chaco

  10 May 2012

“The media flew over the drama and didn't land over the human stories that were waiting below.” Carlos Rodriguez from the blog Rescatar [es] writes about the media's lacking coverage of the floods that hit the Paraguayan Chaco.