natural catastrophe

The online journal Mizzima has just published this photo showing boxes of products emblazoned with the Red Cross logo piled up at a Rangoon market stall ready for sale. Is international aid funding the country's military officials? Read more...

The contributors

Crouching next to a car is far safer than staying inside it.

Following the death of over 14,800 people in the huge earthquake that devastated China on Monday, a Chinese web-user is circulating an email with pictures of quake ruins to illustrate where to hide, and more importantly, where not to. See the instructions, entitled "Where should you hide during an earthquake? Not where you were taught!"

The contributors

According to recent estimates, the earthquake that hit China on Monday could leave 10,000 people dead. Web users are saying that the catastrophe could have been avoided, if only they had listened to the toads. Read more...

The contributors

One of our Burmese observes sent us this image, taken in the Irrawaddy Delta region a few days after the devastating Cyclone Nargis slammed into Burma’s low-lying coastal regions on May 3. He explains why the bodies of these three children are bound together at the wrist - apparently to prevent them from being whipped away by the cyclone. Read more...

The contributors

The Observers publishes an unreleased eyewitness account from a survivor of the typhoon that wrecked havoc in Burma during the weekend. The authorities have so far confirmed 22,000 dead and 41,000 missing people, but NDL - the opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi - says that the total is probably much higher. Read the account.

The contributors

Just like last year, the year before last, and the year before that, a cyclone has swept over Madagascar. And just like every other year, thousands of Madagascans find themselves on the street, hoping that international aid is on its way. See the photos and read the comment from our Observer in Tananarive.

The contributors

The situation in Guizhou province, south-west China is grave. Seventy percent of rainfall is pure ice. Two thirds of electricity has been cut off, and water pipes are frozen. Many people in isolated towns are completely cut off from the world, while the rest of China remains oblivious to the extent of the disaster. To avoid national panic the authorities have downplayed events. But they may also be trying to cover up their poor reaction to the catastrophe. Read more...

The contributors

By Team Observers

Since October 21, Southern California has been ravaged by wildfires. In a country where 70% of the inhabitants are connected to the Internet, it is not surprising that amateur videos of the catastrophe are abundant on sites like YouTube and LiveLeak.

The contributors