MetaFilter posts tagged with Disaster

"I suppose that is why we call it Divine Rupture."

Len — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:36:11 -0800

Brando, Depp, the missing millions and Divine Rapture, the lost movie: "After settling into his rented Georgian mansion, Brando phoned [director] Eberhardt asking if they could meet at 11pm. "I said, 'No, Marlon, I'm too tired. I've been rehearsing all day.' Then he said, 'I'm going to shave my hair off and wear an orange wig'."" Adapted from a much longer article which originally appeared in Film Ireland, annoyingly split up into six pages.

Typhoon Ondoy / Tropical Storm Ketsana leaves Northern Philippines in a state of Calamity

drea — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:51:03 -0800

410mm of rain fell over Northern Luzon, Philippines on September 25, 2009, leaving much of the country's capital and the surrounding regions submerged in water, reaching up to nine feet in some areas. As of latest coverage, over 100 were killed and 340,000 affected by the Typhoon. This amount has been the highest recorded amount of rainfall since the country's weather Bureau started recording rainfall levels in 1967, and exceeds the rainfall level of Hurrican Katrina (380mm). Two more tropical depressions could be under way in the midst of Ondoy's wake. As of now, there are still families stranded on the rooftops of their homes without food and potable water. Most relief aid is coming from volunteers. As for the country's president? She used the Php800M(USD16.8M) emergency fund for foreign trips. See the damage. International News Coverage: NYT Reuters CNN BBC Here are locations in the Philippines placed under a state of calamity due to Typhoon Ondoy/Tropical Storm Ketsana. Here's a situation map of those affected in Metro Manila / Marikina (hardest hit by the flood). Conversely, a Google map of drop-off points for donations./ Send relief (local / international) : How to help. Aggregated information at Ondoy Relief. Typhoon Ondoy. PinoyTumblr. Ondoy Tumblr. At this point, Social Media (facebook, twitter, etc.) has been helping more than cellphones, landlines, which are dead. Telecom infrastructure could not support calamity. The massive number of volunteers and donations is offsetting the incapacity of the government to help. Filipinos call it the bayanihan spirit. And so I leave you with this post on the matter that will hopefully stir and inspire us all.

Russian Dam Disaster

Confess, Fletch — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:59:04 -0800

On August 17th one of the worlds largest hydroelectric plants, Sayano–Shushenskaya in Russia, suffered a major catastrophe. The disaster has resulted in 73 confirmed dead and two missing. It has also resulted in the destruction or damage of 9 of the 10 turbines, a transformer fire and extensive flooding in the turbine hall as well as collapsing a major part of it's roof. Additionally a large amount of insulating oil is traveling downriver. The cause of the accident is still unknown but evidence is pointing toward a failure of the #2 turbine or its control system. 70% of the hydroplants electric generation was used to power 4 aluminum smelters. The accident will result in a cut of 500,000 tons of production. Early estimates are that it will take 4 years and 1.3 billion dollars to repair the facility.

Whoops

adamvasco — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:12:21 -0800

It really isn't safe out there. Click any link and scroll down for up close shipping and aircraft disasters.

The Boy Who Fell Out Of The Sky

mippy — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:01:25 -0800

Pan Am Flight 103 saw the death of David Dornstein (click for video as there's no direct link) - 25 years old, aspiring writer - and the manuscript to his unpublished novel scattered across the countryside and sea. His brother Ken set out to write the story of his life and death. This is one of the most fascinating books I've read in the past few years and the current talk of Lockerbie has reminded me of this story of one of the victims.

You'll never walk again

MuffinMan — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:25:06 -0800

20 years ago today, a crush of fans at the Leppings Lane entrance of Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium killed 96 people, among them the cousin of current Liverpool player Steven Gerrard (who has the dubious honour of being the youngest victim). Coming just 4 years after the Heysel stadium disaster, which killed 39 people and was officially blamed on Liverpool fans, and almost two decades of hooligan violence, the most obvious or convenient conclusion was that history had repeated itself. The intervening years have seen bitter recriminations, against the Police and also The Sun - who repeated the accusation that Liverpool fans brought about the disaster and disgraced themselves - and a government enquiry. Still, to this day, many feel the real story has yet to come out. *The post title is deliberately ironic. Although the subversion of Anfield's iconic son "You'll Never Walk Alone" predates Hillsborough, it is still occasionally chanted by opposing fans mocking the disaster.

The Bethnal Green Disaster

Electric Dragon — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:47:29 -0800

On March 3rd 1943, the worst civilian disaster of the Second World War killed 173 people, including 62 children. During an air-raid alert, the noise of a new anti-aircraft battery panicked the crowd trying to get into the shelter at Bethnal Green tube station. In the dark, wet conditions, someone tripped and fell at the foot of the stairs, blocking the pathway and knocking others over in a domino effect. More and more people continued to pile in at the top leading to a massive and deadly crush. In order not to unduly alarm the populace, many details of the disaster were suppressed at the time, and the report of the official inquiry was kept secret until after the war - only on the 50th anniversary was a memorial plaque erected. A proper memorial is planned, which will list all the victims. Their website also has a series of recollections from survivors and relatives of victims.

Fair and Balanced

Skeptic — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 03:55:44 -0800

The Disasters' Emergency Committee is an umbrella organisation of 13 major British humanitarian NGOs: ActionAid, the British Red Cross, CAFOD, Care International, Christian Aid, Concern, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tear Fund and World Vision. It was created to coordinate a rapid response to major disasters and to launch common appeals for donations to be broadcast in the British media. Since 1963, the DEC has previously successfully run appeals for the victims of a.o. the Asian Tsunami, the Darfur and Chad Crisis, the Congo Crisis, or the Burma and Bangladesh Cyclones. However, their latest appeal has been refused by the BBC. In the BBC's Editors' Blog, its Director General, Mark Thmpson, cites concerns about the perception of its impartiality and casts doubt on the charities' "ability to deliver on the ground the aid raised in the appeal". Many are outraged, me included.

NASA releases Columbia report.

herrdoktor — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:57:59 -0800

NASA releases the Columbia shuttle disaster report. Space shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry in 2003 as a result of damage sustained to its thermal protection system. This report details the possible lethal incidents and the investigation board's recommendations based on their findings. A synopsis on Wikipedia provides a good, brief review. Here's MetaFilter's original thread about the disaster. According to the report, there were five events with lethal potential: depressurization of the crew module, trauma from a "rotating load environment" and lack of upper body restraint as the as the forebody starting spinning, disintegration of the crew module, exposure to an extreme environment, and ground impact. It is believed that the crew lost consciousness very quickly and soon after depressurization.

Go-around power please

szechuan — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:24:02 -0800

An Air New Zealand Airbus A320 crashed in the Mediterranean last week while on an acceptance testing flight at the end of a lease. The tragedy occurred on the 29th anniversary of the airline's worst disaster, the crash of sightseeing flight TE901 in the Antarctic. Beginning in 1977, the popular one-day flights took passengers on low level flights over the Ross Dependency, with experienced guides providing commentary. TE 901 flew on beautiful, clear day, and yet the DC-10 collided with the side of Mt Erebus, killing all 257 on board. The original accident report cited pilot error, but that was only the beginning. With no mechanical reason for the crash, and the cockpit voice recorder showing no emergency in the cockpit, The report blamed pilot Jim Collins for descending below a minimum safe altitude of 16,000ft. A subsequent Royal Commission of Inquiry was launched, and after 75 days of evidence, Justice Peter Mahon concluded that "I am forced reluctantly to say that I had to listen to an orchestrated litany of lies." Exonerating the pilots, Justice Mahon found the computer navigation track of TE901 had been altered just before the flight (giant pdf), shifting the flightpath from the safe, flat expanse of McMurdo Sound to a collision course with Mt Erebus, without the pilots being told of the change. The pilots had fallen victim to a phenomenon known as sector whiteout rendering the mountain indistinguishable from the cloud cover. Air New Zealand appealed the decision, and political establishment turned on Mahon, resulting in his eventual resignation. He was posthumously awarded for changing the way air accidents are investigated worldwide. His findings remain controversial decades later, with claims that Air New Zealand employees have attempted to sanitise the Wikipedia entry on the crash, the original cockpit voice recorder tape missing (leaving inconsistent transcripts), and the Prime Minister at the time working to counter Mahon's findings before they were ever released. The wreckage remains on the ice. During warm seasons, it can still be seen from the air.

Social Networking, Mobile Phones, and Crisis Communication

divabat — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:12:12 -0800

Can social networking be used to effect positive social change? Ushahidi (meaning "testimony" in Swahili) is one such project that harnesses mobile technology to empower local citizens to report on crucial and crisis situations in their area. Started as a mashup of user-generated reports and Google Maps on the post-election crisis in Kenya, it has now been deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa. They are currently working together with other organisations, such as Kiwanja, which uses mobile technology to assist NGO communications and outreach, mobile programming education, and gorilla conservation. Currently they're collaborating on prototyping the "ultimate activist tool". MobileActive is a dedicated blog that tracks such technology in international development and advocates for the use of mobile technology in crisis situations and disaster relief. (This post is a collaboration between divabat and infini.)

Escaped a disaster? Tell everyone!

rmd1023 — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:03:05 -0800

Whether you're fleeing tropical storm Fay - which is currently heading for Florida - or you've just been airlifted out of the Grand Canyon due to the the recent flooding due to a dam breach, or even "none of the above/other", the American Red Cross has a way for you to let folks know you're Safe and Sound. You can search for people in the list by family name, pre-disaster phone number, and pre-disaster address. Also, the American Red Cross has a twitter feed. But I don't think twitter being down counts as a disaster...

Anyone for the Global War on Flu?

athenian — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:41:29 -0800

The UK's national risk register is made public. It is kept updated by the secret squirrels in the Cabinet Office, and was previously kept under wraps. Pandemic flu and flooding beat out terrorism as the major risks facing the UK at the moment. Both are seen as less likely than a terrorist attack, but more devastating. The full pdf has a chart on page 7 showing the main risks on a grid.

Dystopian Evolution: Imagining an Envirogeddon

dead_ — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:18:16 -0800

Dystopian storytelling is pillar of Western narrative tradition, but this decade has seen a significant shift in the way our apocalypse is told. Orthodox tales of government tyranny are giving way to visions of humans running helpless in the wake of environmental meltdown. From the plausible to the fantastic, most of this fiction remains hauntingly real while the non-fiction can get downright scary. In 2008, the 20th anniversary of climatologist James Hansen's landmark speech before Congress, popular art is beginning to reflect an increasingly bleak public sentiment on the future, playing out some of our worst nightmares. It may be that these writers and directors are wishing for the end of the world, but even so, they are certainly giving voice to the creeping feeling that indeed, we might not make it.

There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?

KokuRyu — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:28:10 -0800

Russian car magazine "Autoreview" has posted photos of a 1978 Korean Air Lines (KAL) forced landing to accompany an article about the Land Rover Defender pickup that was used to haul equipment at that time. Apparently, Korean Air Lines is not amused (Korean) by this effort to dig up the past. More photos. Via the always awesome Marmot's Hole. The KAL 707 airliner heading to Seoul from Paris was forced down on a frozen lake 200 miles south of Murmansk after it strayed off course into Soviet airspace on April 21, 1978. During the forced landing, a missile fired from a Soviet fighter killed two and wounded 13.

May 25 tornado, Parkersburg, Iowa

ArgentCorvid — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:03:13 -0800

The (U.S.) National Weather Service has released its report on a strong tornado that occured in Iowa the evening of May 25th. On the evening of May 25th, 2008 a tornado rated at EF5 (estimated wind speed was around 205 MPH!!) obliterated half of the town of Parkersburg, Iowa. Eight people have died, and 70 were injured. Here is a PDF containing incredible pictures of the damage (taken by employees of the NWS during their survey). there are a bunch more pictures on flickr, as well.

Burma: monks vs. junta

homunculus — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:20:44 -0800

Monks Succeed in Cyclone Relief as Junta Falters. In Burma (Myanmar) the Buddhist monks are doing more than anyone to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis. At the same time, Burmese officials are trying to stem the influence of the monks by forcing survivors who have sought refuge in monasteries to return to their shattered homes. [Via Barbara's Buddhism Blog.]

Grief in the Rubble

homunculus — Sun, 25 May 2008 00:36:54 -0800

Chinese Are Left to Ask Why Schools Crumbled. "A staggering number of students died as schools collapsed in the May 12 earthquake, and grieving parents are speaking out about shoddy construction."

Anonymous American in Rangoon

gen — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:38:33 -0800

A week in Burma after the storm is the second of two anonymous eyewitness reports at danwei.org of the impact and aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. It is the most gripping and tremendously sad report I have read yet on the human tragedy that is Nargis and the Myanmar Junta's non-response.

The monster was wailing, things were crashing on the roof, and the windows looked to break at any moment. The walls and ceilings were moist with water and part of the ceiling had even opened up to spill water below. I felt that with these winds, the whole wall and ceiling could really be peeled away at any moment. I chanced another look out my door and with the force of the winds, plus the caved-in ceiling and electrical wires, chancing an escape seemed not much better an option, especially given that I didn't even know where the emergency stair case was.

Burma Can't Wait

homunculus — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:49:31 -0800

Burma: It Can't Wait is a month-long video campaign by the US Campaign for Burma to raise awareness of the plight of Burma (Myanmar) and Aung San Suu Kyi. There will be one video a day for 30 days from celebrities including Will Ferrel, Sarah Silverman and Eddie Izzard. But now the political situation in Burma has been overshadowed by a humanitarian catastrophe: a massive cyclone hit Burma on Saturday, killing over 10,000 people. The question now is whether the reclusive military Junta will accept international aid, and what the political ramifications will be if they don't handle this well.

The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904

dhammond — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:31:29 -0800

"To suppose that the spirit of our people will not rise to the occasion is to suppose that our people are not genuine Americans. We shall make the fire of 1904 a landmark not of decline but of progress."

At The End Of The World, No One Can Hear You Scream.

amyms — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:44 -0800

10 Disasters That Could Cause The End The World At Any Given Second. [Via, via].

Hartford Civic Center Collapse

eye of newt — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:43:47 -0800

It could have been the greatest disaster in US history. On January 18, 1978, 30 years ago today, the 1400 ton 2 1/2 acre roof of the Hartford Civic Center, covered by a blanket of snow and ice, suddenly and completely collapsed, damaging almost all of the seats underneath. Just four hours earlier there was a basketball game packed with 5000 fans. Had it collapsed then, many, if not most, of the fans and players could have died. The roof was designed with help from some of the best civil engineering consultants, universities, and professors in the industry and had a special computer analyzed 'space frame' design--meant to equally balance the load so that lighter and cheaper material could be used. (Three days later, the space-frame roof of the Long Island University C.W. Post Dome Auditorium (pdf) collapsed "like a giant cracked eggshell".) Lessons learned.

Only Shatner can make Satanists melt

Astro Zombie — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:09:26 -0800

All hail 70s-era Shatner! He began his career with some rather prestigious projects, appearing in The Brothers Karamazov and Judgment at Nuremberg, as well as some rather high profile appearance in Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. But even then, there were hints of exploitation, such as 1961's The Explosive Generation, in which Shatner played a teacher whose job is endangered when she speaks candidly to kids about sex. And there was 1962's The Intruder, a Roger Corman film from 1963 in which Shatner played a carpetbagging racist inciting violence in a southern town. (Clip.) And, of course, there was Incubus from 1965, a horror film in Esperanto. (Clip.) But, after Star Trek, at the start of the 70s, something went haywire. Let us begin with Big Bad Mama, from 1974, a Corman ripoff of Bonnie and Clyde that featured Angie Dickenson played a moonshiner with desperate daughter and Shatner as a gambler made bervous by machine guns. (Preview.) Also in 1974, Shatner starred in Impulse as a con man who murders women. (See him kill Karate Pete.) The following year, he starred in The Devil's Rain, which put him toe toe toe with satanists. (Watch Shatner scream; Ooh, they melt!) What could be worse? Well, you could have Shatner fighting spiders. (Review; clip) Or you could have him wear an atrocious toupee and leisure suits to narrate and appear throughout a pseudoscientific documentary about aliens from space. (Summary.) Or you could simply find him in a series of made for television disaster movies. And did you think he couldn't ruin his own great episode of Twilight Zone? Think again.

Massive flooding in Tabasco

serazin — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:30:59 -0800

300,000 people are stranded due to massive flooding in Tabasco, Mexico. More from UNICEF. Video from Reuters. It would be great if folks could chip in their ideas of possible places to send aid. Via Campesina is one idea, but I don't know much about what organizations do work in Tabasco already.