Stories about Disaster from June, 2011
Philippines: Worst Flash Flood Hit “Typhoon-Free” City
Many Filipinos were taken by surprise by the heavy floods that hit the southern Philippine city of Davao recently. The Philippines is notorious for flash flood disasters, but Davao city is supposedly found in a typhoon-free zone. As of the evening of Wednesday 29 May, 2011, the death toll reached 25 while 15 others remained missing.
Japan: Uncanny Terrain, a documentary on Fukushima farmers
Filmmakers Junko Kajino and Ed M. Koziarski have been working on a documentary about the organic farmers of the Fukushima Prefecture. The film titled Uncanny Terrain will examine “the impact of the nuclear disaster on the farmers, their land, the food they produce, and their customers.” At the homonymous blog...
Japan: Real Voices, Real Japan
An Enligh-language website called Real Voices, Real Japan documents “the business environment and recovery in post-quake Japan.” Its purpose is to “keep foreign business communities up to date on the Japanese recovery and enables decision-making based on accurate, locally-sourced information.”
Cuba: Train Accident Injures 79
Babalu links to a story about a train crash that has injured nearly 80 people in Cuba, commenting: “The decaying infrastructure and transportation system in Cuba…continues to take a deadly toll on the Cuban people.”
South Korea: Downpour-Triggered Landslide Kills One Person
Torrential downpour has triggered a mass landslide in Seoul, killing one person and suspending subway. South Korea's citizen/blogger news Wiki Tree reported [ko] the incident with consolidated tweets.
Haiti: Helping to Stop Human Trafficking
Stanley Lucas blogs about how the effects of 2010's earthquake have affected Haiti's “significant child trafficking problem” and offers a few suggestions to “guide government officials and organizations working on anti-trafficking initiatives.”
North Korea's Fragility in the Face of the Rainy Season
Open Radio for North Korea, a Seoul-based radio station founded and runs by North Korean defectors, reported that North Korean citizens have been mobilized to bolster constructions as rainy season begins. Poorly constructed embankments and dams often flooded during heavy downpour.
South Korea: Typhoon Opening Doors to Nature's Revenge
A typhoon hit South Korea on June 25 and 26, bringing heavy downpours and gusts and signalling the start of the rainy season. At least nine people were killed and a bridge and a levee collapsed. Moreover, a leakage was reported on a landfill where livestock was buried during a recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Haiti: BBBC Benefits in Question
An interesting post on Bill Clinton's housing initiative, Building Back Better Communities (BBBC), which “seeks to construct housing projects across the nation of Haiti”, but upon closer examination, “seems as though the initiative won't live up to its name and in fact will build worse communities than even before the...
Japan: Ryo Chijiiwa on Volunteering
Ryo Chijiiwa gave a 1 hour presentation at Google Tech Talk (video link) about his two month experience volunteering in the disaster zone with All Hands Volunteers.
Russia: Fire at Toxic Waste Disposal Site Near St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg-based LJ user timoha-spb and Twitter users @Zak_r2 and @theproof are among those who are posting photos [ru] of smoke from the fire at the Krasnyi Bor toxic waste disposal site.
Haiti: The Other Side of the Martelly Story
Wadner Pierre refers to a mainstream media article about Haiti's new president, saying that the story fails to mention “the illegitimacy of the way in which he was elected, and the ongoing destruction of earthquake camps that his government is helping to facilitate.”
Cannibalism In North Korea, Smuggled Documents Reveal
GI Korea from the ROK Drop blog commented on local news report claiming that they have obtained smuggled documents confirming cannibalism in North Korea. Acts of cannibalism have long been reported by North Korean defectors, especially during the mass famine in the mid-90′s.
Argentina: Puyehue Volcano Ash Unstoppable in Argentine Territory
Ash from the Chilean volcano Puyehue is affecting a large part of the Argentine territory, causing officials to declare a state of emergency in the Patagonia area. The eruption will probably become one of the greatest natural disasters that the country has gone through in recent years.
North Korea: Women Forced into Prostitution
A Seoul-based aid organization, Good Friends, released an English version of its weekly report. According to North Korean defectors’ testimonies, not a few North Korean women are forced into prostitution in order to make ends meet.
Nigeria: On an Explosive Projectile?
It was like a Nollywood premier, but this time there were neither props nor digital effects. Nigeria has joined nations under terrorist threats following the bomb explosion that pierced the Nigerian Police HQ in Abuja on June 16.
South Korean Troops Shoot at Passenger Jet, No One Injured
South Korean troops shot at passenger jet on June 17 after mistaking it for a North Korean military aircraft near the border with North Korea. No one was hurt from the incident, but South Korean net users from public forum sites are demanding more thorough explanations [ko].
Two earthquakes hit Sumatra
Two earthquakes hit Sumatra Island in Malaysia Tuesday morning. Tremors were also felt in Indonesia. Use the hashtags #earthquake, #tremors, and #sumatra to monitor news reports.
South Korea: Petition Filed to Punish Brutality against Animals
Public anger rose as an animal TV show aired a story of a dog brutally beaten with a stick by a stranger for no reason. Net users have filed an online petition [ko], calling the authority to focus more on capturing the culprit. Over 50 thousand people have signed the...
Singapore: Flooding and the Marina Barrage
Jeremy Chen asks if the recent flooding in Singapore was caused by the Marina Barrage.
Haiti: Reconstruction Issues
Haiti Grassroots Watch writes a series of posts about the country's reconstruction efforts, here and here.
