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16 May 2012

India: Crackdown on Tamil Nadu Anti-Nuclear Plant Protests

Written by Rezwan · South Asia

Activists are protesting the commissioning of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu, India. The government has cracked down on demonstrators, detained many and had given prohibition orders for further protests.

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13 April 2012

Italy: Netizens Ponder the April 2009 L'Aquila Earthquake

Written by Paola DOrazio · Translated by Superjules · Western Europe

In the third anniversary of the tragic event, citizens came together in the streets and online, creating web-pages, posts and Twitter hashtags to share memories, comments and broader hope for a still lagging reconstruction.

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7 April 2012

Peru: Rains Overflow Rivers and Flood Loreto

Written by Juan Arellano · Translated by Rebecca Knaggs · Latin America

The rain in Peru has not stopped. Since February heavy rains have been causing floods across the country. Here are some citizen reports of flooding in the region of Loreto in the Peruvian Amazon, where the city of Iquitos is one of the most affected places.

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22 March 2012

Mexico: 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles the Country

Written by Miguel Angel Guevara · Translated by Elizabeth Rivera · Latin America

On March 20, around midday, a strong 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the south and central part of Mexico. Many turned to the Internet to contact family and report the situation on the ground. Here are some reactions on the web.

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21 March 2012

Mali: Facing Secession and Food Crisis as Elections Loom

Written by Lova Rakotomalala · Sub-Saharan Africa

Mali is currently facing critical challenges while preparing for the presidential elections on April 29. After the fall of Gaddafi in Libya, returning Tuareg armed groups posted there threaten to seek secession for the Azawad territory, or Northern Mali.

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20 March 2012

Mexico: Videos of the 7.8 Earthquake Felt in Mexico

Written by Juliana Rincón Parra · Latin America

On 20 March, an earthquake struck off the coast of Acapulco in Mexico, reportedly between 7.6 and 7.8 on the Richter scale. So far, no casualties have been reported. Following, some videos of how the quake was felt in different regions of the country. All audio is in Spanish.

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12 March 2012

Brazil: Mihoko Satou, a Bridge-Blogger After the Japan Earthquake

Written by Sara Moreira · Translated by Kieran Lonergan · Latin America

A year after the earthquake in Japan, we publish an interview with Mihoko Satou, a Japanese blogger who was born and raised in Brazil. Mihoko tirelessly posted translations on her blog as the events unfolded around her.

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17 February 2012

Japan: Netizens Cast Doubt on Anti-Nuclear Power Poster

Written by Izumi Mihashi · East Asia

On March 11, 2011, the largest earthquake in the history struck Japan, and the resulting tsunami irreversibly damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. An anti-nuclear power poster has triggered arguments on the multifaceted impact of visual art.

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14 February 2012

Hungary: Another Environmental Catastrophe in the Making

Written by Atlatszo.hu · Eastern & Central Europe

In October 2010, a toxic spill from a red sludge reservoir in Kolontár caused the greatest environmental disaster in Hungary's recent history. Atlatszo.hu and Greenpeace are now drawing attention to another hazardous waste reservoir, in the town of Almásfüzitő, which is "leaking like a sponge" and is already causing grave environmental and health damage.

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9 February 2012

Brazil: Is the Weather Wacky?

Written by Fernando Sapelli · Translated by Melissa Mann · Latin America

Talking about the weather may be mere elevator chit-chat but, come rain or shine, there is no honest conversation that does not make some reference to the weather. Obviously the online community could not remain silent on the issue. Especially not in the face of Brazil's readying for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20.

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Updates about Disaster

14 May 2012

Georgia

The Young Georgians posts video of this weekend's flash flood in Tbilisi, Georgia. Five people, including two children, are reported dead.

• Onnik Krikorian

10 May 2012

Paraguay

“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.

• Silvia Viñas

12 April 2012

Malaysia

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.5 hit Indonesia on April 11. The tremors were also felt in Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar. A tsunami alert was issued in several countries but it has been lifted already. Netizens use the hashtag #thaiquake, #prayforsumatera, and #prayformalaysia to monitor the quake impact.

• Mong Palatino

11 April 2012

Indonesia

On twitter, a video of a large wave crashing on a beach is making its rounds: some people share it as a video from the 11 April, 2012 Indonesian Quake, and others insist it is 2004 footage rehashed.

• Juliana Rincón Parra

3 April 2012

Russia

Some photos [ru] of today's fire at a skyscraper under construction in Moscow: photos by RIA Novosti photographers at LJ user drugoi's blog; LJ user aleshru's ITAR-TASS photos; LJ user sergey_mikheyev's photos; two photos of firefighting helicopters refilling in the Moskva River - by LJ user nl. On Twitter, @ruradioscanner was live-tweeting radio exchanges [ru] of the helicopter pilots.

• Veronica Khokhlova

19 March 2012

Peru

Juan Arellano gathers [es] photos, tweets and reports on the state of emergency in Abancay, the capital of the Apurímac region in southern-central Peru, due to heavy rainfall.

• Silvia Viñas

17 March 2012

Barbados

“Why are we so cynical and critical when it comes to mass-casualty bus accidents? We’ve learned to be because there are never any satisfactory answers as to cause or remedial actions taken afterwards”: Barbados Free Press blogs about the country's latest road accident.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

10 March 2012

Poland

Polandian writes about the reactions to the March 3 deadly train crash in Szczekociny, Poland: “When the comments were gathered from the prominent politicians, one that stood out was [PM] Donald Tusk saying something like ‘…This is the worst disaster since… the last such tragedy'.”

• Veronica Khokhlova

9 March 2012

Haiti

The Haitian Blogger calls the cholera outbreak in Haiti “criminal negligence” by the United Nations and goes on to say that the “UN occupation of Haiti is illegal, criminal and based on lies.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Haiti

“The draw-down of hundreds of non-governmental organizations which have been in Haiti since the disastrous 2010 earthquake was inevitable. But with their departure, so, too goes their purse and the millions earmarked for cleaning latrines”: Haiti Grassroots Watch examines “what…that mean[s] for the half a million displaced still living in camps.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco