Stories about Disaster from August, 2010
Bolivia: State of Emergency Due to Wildfires
Bolivia is in a state of fire emergency, with 25,000 blazes affecting 1.5 million hectares. Pablo Andrés Rivero writes [es] about the lack of resources to put out the fires; he also expresses his unbelief at declarations from the Minister of Rural Development, Nemesia Achacollo, who said that only rain...
India, Pakistan: The Politics With India's Donation To Flood Victims
“Was Asif Zardari’s fear of Indian money directly related to his fear of the Pakistan Army?” questions Mobashar Jawed (MJ) Akbar while discussing the politics of “playing with a crisis”.
Russia: Bloggers Expose Death Rate Increase
Until the emergence of Web 2.0, the Russian government had enjoyed a monopoly on death rate information and could manipulate it. Gregory Asmolov investigates how the Russian bloggers have changed the situation.
Russia: Wildfires Victims Sorry They Fought For Their Houses
The aftermath of the recent wildfires in Russia is on the agenda of the main media channels. Reports on and interviews with victims, volunteers, humanitarian aid workers and government officials are covering mainly positive developments: new houses are being built for the victims, financial compensations are being paid to the...
China and North Korea: Jet Crash
Adam Cathcart from Sinologistical Violoncellist looks into the strange jet crash incident in Liaoning province. Some Chinese netizens commented that the incident is the the North Korean version of Lin Biao.
Haiti: Student Visas
The Caribbean Camera reports that the Haitian community is concerned about the relatively low number of Canadian student visas being granted since the January 12 earthquake, saying: “This problem comes just as Haiti needs international education as much as investment to get back on its feet.”
Pakistan: Step Up For Relief Efforts
Teeth Maestro writes about a second relief mission of OffroadPakistan and MotorSports Club of Pakistan and asks other Pakistanis to step up their efforts as they simply cannot wait for the state of flood victims get worse.
Mauritania: Floods Impact Aggravated by Disrupted Roads, Sewer Systems
Kal writes that the severe floods in Mauritania have cut off communication between many cities, impeding the transport of critical food supplies. He adds that the limited number of sewer systems has resulted in destruction of ancient mosques. Here are photos of the flood damages [Ar].
North Korea: A North Korean Jet Fighter Crashed
North Korea has confirmed today that a North Korean jet fighter crashed in Liaoning Province, China Tuesday. South Korean experts assume that the pilot sought to defect the North with his airplane South Korea’s Donga reported.
Russia: Anglophone Bloggers Discuss Social and Political Aspects of the Wildfires
Anglophone Russia bloggers have been discussing social and political aspects of the catastrophic wildfires and the ongoing firefighting efforts in central Russia since early August. Here is a selection of their views.
Pakistan Flood Incident Reporting System Based On Ushahidi
Raza Rumi at Pak Tea House reports in details about the Ushahidi Crowdmap engine powered Pakistan Flood Incident Reporting site, which acts as a crowd-sourcing “data portal designed to gather comprehensive and dynamic information on disaster-related variables”.
Haiti: Reparation?
As Repeating Islands takes note of the pressure on France “to repay the 17 billion euros (£14bn) ‘extorted’ from Haiti in the 19th Century”, Bahamian Nicolette Bethel comments: “Simply erasing the debt is not enough; there is also the long-term damage done to the core fabric of Haitian democratic society…”
Google assists Pakistan flood relief efforts
Jehan Ara at In The Line Of Fire informs that: “Google has created a crisis response page (Urdu) that hosts a variety of tools and compiles information about the disaster, including the latest news from local media sources, any available satellite imagery of the affected areas, and ways to donate...
A Quiet Independence Day for Pakistan
Given all the pain and gloom that surrounds the life of an ordinary Pakistani today, it is no surprise that this year's independence day was a quiet affair. Bloggers assert that the nation is still strong enough to bounce back.
Haiti: Education Challenges
“Following the Jan. 12 earthquake, 1,263…schools in western Haiti were destroyed; 376,000 students were out of school and an unknown number of teachers and students were dead or wounded”: HAITI, Land of Freedom takes a look at the country's education struggle.
Pakistan: Mobile Operators Respond to Flood Relief Calls
There are a number of international mobile operators in Pakistan who are responding to flood relief requirements. Telecomistan blog highlights that approximately PKR 238 million in funds have been pledged by three Mobile Operators as donation.
Russia: Fight With Fire in Ryazan Region
Blogger chistoprudov features more photos on his blog related to the latest efforts to put out wild fires in Ryazan region, Russia.
China: Investigative report on Zhouqu landslide
Wangkeqin wrote an investigative report [zh] on the August 7 Zhouqu landslide. The journalist blogger posted a number of photos showing the fragile construction of water dams in Zhouqu.
Pakistan: Sluggish Help For The Flood Victims
Osama Bin Javaid criticizes the sluggish response of the Pakistan government and the international community to help the flood victims in Pakistan. The blogger asserts: “the world must DO MORE and do it NOW.”
Pakistan Floods: Why Should We Care?
Ethan Casey tries to widen awareness of the massive devastation of the Pakistan floods beyond stereotypes which are present in the West. The post includes some links to organizations for donations to flood relief for the victims.
China: Are the greatest natural disasters Man-Made?
The Chinese Propaganda Department has issued notice to mainstream and online media outlets regarding the recent disaster in Zhouqu. For the Chinese government, it is a time to mourn rather than digging up the man-made mistakes. Reporters, hence, have been asked to leave the landslide area. However, if we don't...
