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Myanmar: Citizen videos in Cyclone Nargis' aftermath

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:12:41 +0000

On May 2nd, 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar (Burma), generating massive damage and tens of thousands dead or missing. The situation would be considered critical for any country. However, the military government or “junta” has restricted the entrance of aid by requiring all donations to pass through them. The junta has also set up guidelines for journalists on how to report on the cyclone, restricting their communications, particularly on showing dead bodies or reporting about insufficient aid for victims, according to Burma News, a local online news source.

In spite of these restrictions on people carrying cameras and taking pictures, some have gone out to record the extent of the damages. There is anger over the failure of authorities to evacuate the affected villages, even when they were allegedly aware of the impending cyclone and the possible devastation it could cause. The following images, uploaded by YouTube user aungsayapyi may affect sensitive people: they are very graphic, include dead bodies and should be viewed with discretion and an adult's consent:

YouTube user AfterNargisYgn has been uploading a multi-part series of videos featuring images of the effects of the Cyclone in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, previously known as Rangoon. People removing downed trees, wading through waters and drying up their mattresses, clothing and in general trying to clean up and move on.

YouTube user Burma4u uploaded a video of the aftermath in Latbutta, with Cyclone Nargis' victims crowded in refugee shelters, trying to sleep as they mull over what will happen to them in the near and far future.

An insightful video about the Burmese people's future has come from myochitmyanmar, another YouTube user who has uploaded a video with some English subtitles, interviewing Laputta survivors and refugees on their current situation: at the refugee camps, on the streets: rice donations and clothing hand-outs for children, private initiatives done without the State Peace and Development Council who governs them. Meanwhile, a picture on Burma News shows what looks like Red Cross aid, which is supposed to be for Cyclone refugees, being sold on the streets.

The following video, also from aungsayapyi shows how people are experiencing life in the refugee camps with donations from private donations, and a Military General's arrival, carrying promises instead of clothing, food or water. They proceed to tell refugees that the people who died, died because of bad karma, and that they should consider themselves lucky to be alive. They give some recommendations about grouping themselves according to villages and then leave. It has been subtitled in English for a better understanding of the events:

In the YouTube Blog they've also highlighted the video community's efforts to help Myanmar and provide aid, and they highlight both news networks and private initiatives who are documenting the cyclone and letting the world know what is going on in this small Southeast Asian country. For example, Nightwatcher1982 of the Netherlands has promised that for every video response to his video he gets, he will donate $5 to the Red Cross, and if it's a good video, he'll donate $10:

Global Voices Online has been providing extensive coverage of the disaster, aggregating information from different citizen media sources in the region on what is happening with food aid, water and the refugee situation as death tolls continue to rise. Please don't hesitate to go over to our Special Myanmar Cyclone Coverage page and read the posts that the amazing team of volunteer authors have been writing with translations from Burmese blogs telling first hand accounts of life in Myanmar right now. You can also follow our Myanmar feed on twitter.

There will also be a global blog action day on behalf of the Burmese victims on May 17th, when people are asked to tell others about the crisis in Myanmar, and some are already organizing fundraisers and events.

Japan: Views on the Sichuan Earthquake

Chris Salzberg — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:36:22 +0000

The earthquake in China's Sichuan province, besides taking its toll on tens of thousands of Chinese citizens, has also had reverberations far away in the Japanese blogosphere, where the topic ranked top among blogging keyword lists [ja] and sparked conversations in forums [ja] over the past few days.

Blogger Kobayashi Akihito at Shirokuma blog writes about the way that Twitter was used to broadcast early news about the earthquake, and how this indicates a change in the way journalism is now functioning:

これまでのジャーナリズムは、言うなれば「選ばれた人」だけが情報を発信するというものでした。最近は市民ジャーナリズムというかたちも登場していますが、ここでも「市民記者」という存在になれるのは限られた人であり、しかも（各サイトによって程度の差があるようですが）編集部の検閲が必ず入ります。つまり一部の人間や組織が情報を選別し、その選別に対する信頼感で、情報の信憑性が保証されているわけですね（もっとも最近では、それに疑いの声を上げる人が多くなっていますが）。

Journalism up until now has been the transmission of information by only so-to-speak “chosen people”. Recently a form [of journalism] called citizen journalism has also made an appearance, but this is also limited to people who are able to become “citizen journalists”, and on top of this (while there is a difference between sites in the degree [to which this happens]) there is also inspection by an editorial department. In other words, one segment of people or of organizations chooses information, and based on a sense of trust in this selection process, the authenticity of information is guaranteed. (Although recently there are many people questioning this idea.)

一方 Twitter が構築したネットワークの中では、誰もが自由に情報発信することができます。その分ウソやウワサ話といったものも多く含まれることになりますが、別に従来のメディアのように情報の信憑性を保証しているわけではありませんから、受け手はそれを鵜呑みにせず「これは本当だろうか？」と吟味することになります。その情報を発信したのが、普段から信頼できる発言をしている人物か。一人だけでなく、他の人々も同じことを語っているか。同じ情報を受け取った他のユーザーは、どのような反応をしているか。そういった要素をベースに信憑性を判断し、場合によっては自らも「中国で地震があったらしいよ」と発言する――それがまた別のユーザーに伝わって、という流れになるわけですね。もちろんこれは理想像ですが、今回「Twitterで目にした情報はすべて正しいようだ」という発言が出ているのは、従来のジャーナリズムとは別の仕組みで、正しい情報が伝わる仕組みが現れつつあることを示しているように思います。

Within the network that Twitter has built up, on the other hand, anybody can freely transmit information. To this extent, there are also lies and rumors included [in this information], but there is no particular reason to think that [Twitter networks] guarantee the authenticity of information in the way that traditional media do. It is therefore a matter of the receiver of information not believing everything they see, scrutinizing [the information] and asking: “Is this really true?” Is the one who is transmitting the information a person who ordinarily makes trustworthy statements? Is it only one person, or are other people saying the same thing as well? And other people receiving the information, how are they responding to it? Drawing judgments about authenticity on the basis of these elements, a person may in some cases themselves also declare that: “there seems to have been an earthquake in China” — this message is then transmitted to other users, and this is how the flow works. This is of course an idealized image, but the statements that came out this time that “all the information seen on Twitter appears to be correct” would seem to indicate that a new mechanism for transmitting accurate information — different from the mechanism of traditional journalism — is in the process of emerging.

Japanese TV broadcast about the potential influence of the earthquake on the Beijing Olympics

Whereas Akihito focused on the medium, most bloggers in fact were writing about the actual earthquake itself. In a post entitled “Will the Olympics be alright?”, one blogger expresses sympathy for victims of the earthquake while also questioning the strategy of rush construction, which apparently compromised the structure of some buildings:

まずは被害に追われた中国の、そして世界の方々にお見舞い申し上げます。
タイミングもタイミング、恐ろしいほどのタイミングで地震が起きてしまいましたね。
折からのチベット問題に加えて、この大地震。
しかも、死者は１万人を超えそうだと。
また、この被害は地震のみならず、急成長裏の手抜き工事が大きく影響しているようです。
こうなると素人のわたしとしては、果たして無事にオリンピックは開かれるのかと。
いや、むしろこれも愛国心の高揚に一役買うかも知れませんね。
オリンピックもいいですが、突貫工事で被害が拡大したという点も早急に対処してほしいですね。

First I would like to express my feelings of sympathy to all the people of China, and of the world, who have suffered.
And the timing, what terrible timing for an earthquake to happen.
On top of the problems happening at the same time in Tibet, this major earthquake.
And what's more, apparently there were more than 10,000 deaths.
Apparently the damage was not only caused by the earthquake, but was also greatly influenced by the shoddy construction behind sudden economic growth.
In this situation, a layperson like myself has to ask, will the Olympics actually take place without any problems?
On the contrary, however, this could perhaps play a role in heightening feelings of patriotism.
I have no problem with the Olympics, but I hope that they deal as soon as possible with this problem of increased damage resulting from rush construction.

At Wakaba no Nikki, one blogger remarks on all the disasters hitting Asia recently, including the typhoon that took 30,000 lives in Myanmar:

このところ、ミャンマー・サイクロン（あまり『ミャンマー』という呼称は使いたくないが…）、中国・四川省大地震と、アジアで大災害が続発している。ほぼ１日たって大地震の死者は１万２千人と発表されたが、今なお９万人以上の人が生き埋めになっているとか。一刻も早く一人でも多くの人が救助されることを願ってやまない。私も僅かながら義援金を送ろうと思う。

The cyclone in Myanmar (I don't really want to use the title “Myanmar”, but…), the huge earthquake in Sichuan province, major catastrophes have recently been hitting Asia one after another. One day after the earthquake it was announced that there had been 12,000 deaths, but by now over 90,000 people have been buried alive. I keep wishing that many people are rescued as soon as possible, or even just one person. While it is only a small [contribution], I think I will also send a donation.

The blogger then comments on a strange phenomenon observed before the earthquake hit:

ところで、今回の「大地震の前に、同省の綿竹市で数十万匹のヒキガエルが一斉に移動するという異常現象があった」というニュースを読んだ。日本ではナマズが暴れると言われるし、以前読んだ地震の本には、雪の上を這いずっているヘビが確認された後に地震が起こったと記されていた。冬眠中のヘビを叩き起こすような変化が土中に起こったのだろう。また私の経験では、近所の犬が夜中にうるさく鳴き続けるので目が覚めたら直後に地震が起こったことがある。このような動物の異常行動を「宏観異常現象」と言うそうで、動物達は電磁気や化学物質の変化を感知しているのではないかと考えられている。

Incidentally, I read the news about “a strange phenomenon that occurred just before the big earthquake, in which several thousand toads in the city of Mianzhu in the same province started moving all at once”. It is said in Japan that catfish act very violently, and in a book about earthquakes that I once read, it was noted that an earthquake occurred after a snake was confirmed to be slithering on the top of snow. I guess there was some kind of change underground that roused the snake out of hibernation. I have had experiences myself in which I was woken up in the middle of the night by the loud barking of neighborhood dogs, and then an earthquake hit right afterwards. This kind of abnormal behavior in animals is apparently referred to under the title of “macro-anomaly”, and it is thought that such animals are perceiving electromagnetic or chemical changes.

Blogger Tatsuro Satoh at the Voice from Kobe draws a comparison with the Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake:

テレビで、地震による空港での混乱の状況を放映していたが、テレビ画面からも「極めて強い揺れ」を感じ取ることができた。
　場面は全く異なるが、一瞬阪神淡路大震災を思い起こした。
　記事の写真は、余震を恐れ、路上で一夜を明かした人々を写し出している。阪神泡時代震災時、私自身もある意味で、写真が写し出している人々のように、茫然としていたことを思い出した次第である。。。

On television, they were broadcasting the confusion in the airport resulting from the earthquake, and from the TV footage one could sense the “extremely powerful vibrations”.
The context is totally different, but for a moment I thought of the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake.
The photograph in the article shows people who passed the night on the street, fearing aftershocks. I remembered that I myself was also in a kind of daze at the time of the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, like the people in the picture.

While bloggers were mostly sympathetic with the victims of the earthquake, online bulletin boards and forums expressed a different perspective. An anonymous poster in the 6th comment on a thread at 2channel about the earthquake writes:

6 : 名無しさん＠八周年：2008/05/14(水) 14:51:39 ID:4t7Tb1Oe0

売国政治屋だらけで支持する政党が無い国、それが日本。
５億払ったって中国共産党に流れるだけだ。
今まで兆単位で貢いできたＯＤＡもそれが日本からの支援だとは殆どの中国人は知らない。
なぜなら共産党はその事実を絶対に教えないから。
そして洗脳教育によって日本は中国に金を貢いで当り前だと中国人は思いこんでる。
今も昔もそこに感謝の念などは全く無い。

A country full of politicians who sell out, without any political parties to support, that's Japan.
Even if you pay 500 million yen, it just flows to the Chinese communist party.
Even now most Chinese don't know that the ODA [Official Development Assistance] which provided financing is also support from Japan.
Why? Because the Chinese government will absolutely not inform people about this fact.
Through an education of brainwashing, Chinese come to get the idea that Japan financing China is something obvious.
And now, just like in the past, there is absolutely no sense of gratitude for this.

Another poster, shortly thereafter in comment number 39 on the same thread, describes how they came to 2channel expecting to find sympathy for the victims of the disaster, only to be met with hostility:

39 ：名無しさん＠八周年：2008/05/14(水) 14:57:27 ID:I7toTpGP0

[…]

同じように心を痛めている人も多かろうと思い、インターネット掲示板
２ちゃんねるを覗いてみた。だがそこで目にしたものは、フリーチベット
支持者(ネットウヨクと呼ばれる若者達)の心無い、中国人被災者の方に
対する目を疑うほどの罵詈雑言の書き込みの数々だった・・・。

Thinking that there would be many people similarly troubled about this, I took a peek at the Internet bulletin board 2channel.
But what I saw there were thoughtless posts by Free Tibet supporters (young people who call themselves the net right-wing)
targeting Chinese victims of the disaster, so abusive that I could hardly believe my eyes…

Kuwait: Sad for Shaikh Saad

Abdullatif AlOmar — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:35:56 +0000

Former Kuwaiti ruler Shaikh Saad Al Abdulla Al Sabah died today after a long illness at the age of 78. Kuwait's online community was moved by the news, as hundreds of messages of sympathy and condolences poured onto blogs, in Arabic and English. The country has declared three days of official mourning - but the parliamentary elections, scheduled for Saturday, will go ahead as planned.

Saba [Ar] posts the following eulogy:

يعتصرنا الالم بفقدان رجل عظيم من رجالات الكويت
الذي ضحى بحياته وكرسها دائما وابدا من اجل الدفاع عن تراب هذه الارض
وكان رحمة الله عليه علامة بارزة في تاريخ الكويت المعاصر
كقائد عظيم يشار عليه بالبنان
وذلك من خلال البطولات التى تصدى لها
في فترة تقلدة مراكز السيادة والحكم في دولتنا الحبييه

We are hurt by the loss of a great man from Kuwait, who sacrificed his life and spent it always to defend this land. He was, may Allah rest his soul in peace, a major personality in Kuwait's contemporary history. He was a great leader, with heroic deeds which everyone knows about during his official work and rule in our beloved country.

Mr Chocolate [Ar] too is overcome with emotions and writes:

كنت سنداً لأخيك أمير القلوب الشيخ جابر الأحمد الجابر الصباح رحمه الله
و والداً لأهل الكويت
لن ننسى فضلك و جهدك في تحرير الكويت
و لن ننسى انك كنت أحد أبناء أبو الدستور الشيخ عبدالله السالم الصباح
ربما حكمتنا أيام و لكن لن ننسى معاناتك مع المرض
رحمكم الله جميعاً يا أوفياء الكويت

You have always been a pillar of strength for your brother, the Emir of Hearts, Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, may Allah rest his soul in peace. You have been a father for the people of Kuwait. We will never forget your efforts in liberating Kuwait and we will never forget that you have been one of the sons of the father of the Kuwaiti constitution Shaikh Abdulla Al Salem Al Sabah. You may have been a ruler for a few days but we will never forget your suffering with illness. May Allah have mercy on all the faithful people of Kuwait.

Al Tariq [Ar] wishes the people of Kuwait patience in dealing with this calamity. He writes:

ادعو له بالرحمة والمغفرة ، وأن يلهم الله أهله وذويه والشعب الكويتي الصبر والسلوان

I pray for mercy and forgiveness for him and may his bereaved family and the people of Kuwait have the patience to deal with this calamity.

5-q8 posts the following picture, which says: Farewell, Father of Fahad, Shaikh Saad's eldest son.

The Blkalfasih [Ar] announced that the elections will be held on Saturday, May 17, adding that three days of mourning - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - have been declared in the state.

Malawi: Several arrested over allegations to remove president

Victor Kaonga — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:32:51 +0000

It has been reported that several senior security and opposition political officials have been arrested in Malawi on allegations of coup plot. Malawian journalist and blogger Kondwani Munthali says that the politics in Malawi is undergoing interesting developments and political temperatures have reached a boiling point. Writing from Lilongwe where he is based, he says:

Finally arresting people like Retired General Joseph Chimbayo, Joseph Aironi, John Chikakwiya, Humphrey's Mvula and Kennedy Makwangwala will not solve the current political impasse. I am hesistant to add the military officials also in the cooler for Treason. Some of us saw the signs of times, long time ago, but we chose to ignore it.

Political temperatures have reached boiling point, but it is the man in Karonga who has no food. I was in Lilongwe Kumachenga, when the MCP legislator was screaming that he cannot go to Parliament. I was happy when Bingu called for the talks only to be dejected later when he went on a political rally to reveal what was going on secretly.
I don't know where Malawi is going to as of today, arrests and intimidation seem to be much more like Kamuzu era not a democratic regime people opted for 15 years ago. I hope my country will wake up to realisation that leadership is more
of a gift from God. Restraint and patience develop good leaders and not tempers. I hope in the next few years, posterity will prove many of us right in our decisions and be remembered as “great leaders” who brought impact
on our people than sheer politicking.

In his long post “Cry the Beloved Country,” he bemoans the political developments which he says do not help the rural poor in
Malawi. A week ago Munthali was arrested by the police on allegations that he was behind stories that speak ill of the president in online publications.

India: Bomb blasts in Jaipur

Neha Viswanathan — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:56:57 +0000

SAJA Forum links to news about the bomb blasts in Jaipur, India.

China: QQ Message on Primer

Oiwan Lam — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:14:35 +0000

The China Primer Wen Jiabo has rushed to Sichuan to lead the earthquake relief. In the QQ, someone claimed to be near the Primer to a QQ group. In the messages (via kisshi), it said Wen asked the PLA to devote their lives for the disaster relief in tear [zh]. It is unclear whether it is a genuine account.

China: Earthquake Update

Oiwan Lam — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:55:33 +0000

Shanghaiist frequently provides updates on Chendgu's earthquake news.

Moroccan Student in Lebanon Chronicles Life in the Middle of Political Crisis

Lydia Beyoud — Mon, 12 May 2008 23:41:28 +0000

Manal, a female Moroccan blogger studying at the American University of Beirut, has been drawing lots of attention to her blog Carpe Diem with her on going account of the rising crisis in Lebanon. Manal fills her readers in with a mix of trepidation, hope and on-the-street commentary, offering what is perhaps a rare glimpse at a foreign -though Arab- “on the ground” perspective of what's happening in Beirut. The following are extracts from several of her most recent posts:
(more…)

Japan: Update on actions against Internet Censorship

Chris Salzberg — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:31:32 +0000

Shunichi Arai at Asiajin reports on the latest moves against Internet censorship in Japan.

China: Quake damage rising; witness in affected cities

Bob Chen — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:39:00 +0000

Death tolls: 22069 (official statistic,23pm,05.16). The number is estimated to rise up to 50000 in following days. The update in this post will be stopped. So hard to see the relentlessly rising number!

Further coverage on this quake might be put forward soon….Prayers.

Updated: The previously isolated towns in epicenter finally saw the first 1300 soldiers. But as the landslide cut off most the roads and high way, communication remains hard.

Situation of another 50 thousand people is yet unknown. In Peng-zhou, over 100 thousand people were estimated to be blocked up inside mountains. Troops are getting through the hindrance.

Updated: 9219 （8.00 am, 05.13） deaths were reported in 8 provinces. But still, nothing is known from the 3 towns at the epicenter.
Bei-chuan county was much buried by the falling rocks. Part of it was devastated, kindergartens and schools suffering the most.
The landslide is still hiting the region.

A picture of Bei-chuan before the earthquake

Bei-chuan now, almost devastated

In a secondary school in Dujiangyan, where 900 students were reported to be buried, the collapsed teaching buildings have killed over 60 students.

Their bodies were laid on the playground. PRAY!

A list of casualty in every affected regions was being refreshed in portal websites.

Updated: 9219（8.00 am, 05.13） deaths were reported in 8 provinces, while the information in Wenchuan county (汶川县),the epicenter, is still unknown. It has been isolated as the communication and roads were cut off. The place is where Han, Tibetans, Hui people lived together.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck China at 2:28 p.m. local time. The quake was centered at Wen-chuan county, Sichuan province, some 50 miles west-northwest to Chengdu, where 12 million people live. It was not only intense but massive as well, since across the country has felt its impact. Up till now 107 deaths have been reported, along with cases of injured and collapsed buildings.

The road to Wen-chuan has been paralyzed.

The casualty is feared to be still rising.

Updated: In the evening, 3000 to 5000 deaths were estimated in Beichuan county, contiguous to the epicenter.

After about an hour of the tremor, related news was released on scores of websites, including Xinhua Net, the official news agency.

Premier Wenjiabao has reached the disaster area to lead the rescue, saying that the situation is “particularly severe”. 5000 soldiers have been sent for rescue.

The range of the quake’s impact is huge. It could by no means be covered up as shortly after the seism occurred, from southern cities as far as Hong Kong and Haikou, to northern metropolises such as Beijing, or populated regions like Chongqing and Shanghai, tremor, shaking, and dizziness caused by wobbling were felt in varied degree.

Swarms of people went online to share their experiences during the quakes that lasted for over 10 seconds. A roundup is coming.

A netizen from Beijing reported:

木樨地有震感！我还以为是自己头晕呢，原来是发地震了！

I could feel the timber floor vibrating! I first thought I was just giddy. Then I realized it was an earthquake.

Another netizen in Tianjing commented

我单位在16层，震感很明显，持续了约2分钟。

I worked on the 16th floor, and the tremor was evident. It continued for about 2 minutes.

Beijing and Tianjing were 960 miles to the northeast of the epicenter, a fact from which people came to realize how severe the seism was. The picture below showed exactly the evacuated people outside the building of Xinhua Net, the official news agency in Beijing.

In tianya, a special thread was opened to collect the information from all over the country about the astounding minutes.

Briel told what he felt in Luoyang, Henan, middle China.

我在十楼上。。。突然发现自己在晃。灯在乱抖，然后外面有玻璃哗啦掉的声音。。
晃的好厉害啊！
现在好了。

I was on the 10th floor, and suddenly felt myself in shaking. The lamp was swaying and the crack of falling glass from outside was heard. So crazily shaking!
It’s better now.

There was no exception even in Ningbo, a coastal city on the east-south. NeverFly said:

　　摇的非常厉害啊
我在18楼，前后摇晃的感觉非常明显，感觉在坐船一样
而且人有明显的恶心头晕感

我出门问别人什么事
单位同事叫我跑下去
我们走到消防楼梯一看，全是人
走到楼下一看，写字楼的人基本都跑出来了
到现在还觉得有点头晕恶心呢

So terribly shaking!
I was on the 18th floor, and could feel strongly the house swaying to and fro, just like on a boat. I was so dizzy at the time. When running out to ask about what happened, my colleagues told me to go downstairs. People gathered on the staircases. And I saw all people in the office building were out there.

I am still feeling uncomfortable.

Feeling dizzy is what quite a lot of people initially felt when the quake coming. Most of them were amazed at the situation, having no idea what was happened. But soon the instinct forced them to act.

In a voting “do you feel the quake?” on Tianya.com, Chongqing, a city of over 30 million people, topped the list that most people felt the tremor there. The city was contiguous to Sichuna province.

In 163.com, someone from Chongqing told her hard time:

当时正睡午觉,货架上的货物哗哗掉,只见房子剧烈晃动,老公拉上我就跑,车都没敢去开~~~~
从来没想过,合川还会地震

I was taking a nap then, and heard the packages and sundries clamoring down, and the house shaking intensely. My husband dragged me away on foot immediately, without even trying to get in the car.
I have never thought the city would meet an earthquake.

In a Chongqing community, people in panic
yybz020123 told about Xi'an, a city in mid-China:

西安震感强烈，有十几秒，大地在抖，窗子，门，在响，现在院子里都是人，手机没型号

The city was rocking for over 10 seconds, the land trembling, so were the windows, doors rattling. Now people are gathering in the yard. But the cellphones are not able to work.

According to the updated news, 2300 telecommunication towers were disrupted by the quake, which added to the hardship of rescue.

Students getting rescued.

Shanghai was affected as well.

上海有震感，我们大楼晃了几分钟，头晕得厉害

The quake was felt here too. Our building wobbled for a few minutes, which made me dizzy.

Deep-adventure was in Guangzhou

　广州感觉到了我还以为我患了帕金逊
当时蹲在椅子上全身不自觉左摇右摆好可怕
7.8级祈求不要有人员伤亡
今年有点烦

Guangzhou got it, too. I thought I had parkinsonism.
I was then crouching on my seat, involuntarily shaking left and right. So terrible!
7.8! Pray no one get hurt. Such a year!

China: 7.8 scale earthquake felt across most of China

John Kennedy — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:57:55 +0000

Around two hours ago, an earthquake registering 7.8 on the Richter scale struck in southwestern China's Sichuan province, centered in Wenchuan county, and with tremors felt as far away as Beijing and Hong Kong.

Update, Tuesday 9am: QQ has been aggregating video shot by its users from many of the affected areas; many of these videos can be seen here. The video below comes from user Gary, taken in an unspecified location:

The earthquake was reportedly felt in Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, parts of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Gansu, Henan, Ningxia and Jiangsu.

See below for updates by region.

From Chinese video-sharing website Tudou, user danta1990's footage taken in the Sichuan capital Chengdu:

Danwei has already compiled a number of updates from various sources, as has Shanghaiist, with information on user-shot video from Sichuan Chinese video portal websites were quick to get up on their front pages.

This clip on 56.com comes from user Little Fish in Wenchuan, Sichuan:

And this from video sharing website Youku.com comes from user xiaoyu82528, showing the effect of the earthquake as felt as far away as Beijing:

Twitter seems to be a top source of breaking details for the moment; Many are writing of difficulties connecting to those at the center of the quake zone over telephone, but the internet seems to still be functioning. Beijing-based tech guru Kaiser Kuo writes that the government Seismological Bureau website is currently inaccessible, presumably from high levels of traffic.

Users inwalkedbud and Lyrrael have been posting updates in English, reporting what they can. River Crab Goes Ashore has been collecting live updates on Chinese microblogging service provider Fanfou.

Inwalkedbud writes from Chengdu, quite near the center of the earthquake: “Doesn't seem to be much damage to buildings, but people are shaken up. Electricity/water/gas seems to be working still.”

Other areas have not been as fortunate; Chinese Twitter user Raine, based in Hubei, writes of possible destruction there:

同事刚电话回家，湖北的荆州、沙市的房子倒了一片，有灾情。

One colleague just phoned home to Jingzhou in Hubei, houses in Shashi have collapsed, it's a disaster there.

Also via Danwei is a note to keep following Summize.com, one Twitter search engine which supports Chinese characters, for steady updates; updates found via Summize and other places will be added here as they are found. Photos can be seen on Flickr via searches for ‘earthquake' in English and Chinese and on Yupoo.com.

Anyone with more information regarding other areas around China that have been affected is invited to gives us a heads-up in the comments.

Microblog updates by region:
Sichuan
Photos of the devastation in ~~Jiangyan, Jiangsu province~~Dujiangyu, one of the hardest-hit places known so far. Several portray dead bodies.

Monday 21:52 http://jiwai.de/IQ%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%90/statuses/8802456

“English”语言的维基百科“List of earthquakes”词条中已经增加了此次四川大地震的内容,此外该语言已经新增了“2008 Sichuan Province earthquake”的词条。中文维基百科尚无相关内容更新。

The English-language ‘list of earthquakes' entry already has information on this Sichuan earthquake, and on top of that there's even a “2008 Sichuan Province earthquake” entry. Chinese Wikipedia still has no related information.

Monday 22:40 http://jiwai.de/doggienest/statuses/8803411

往成都固定电话打通了

Home phones in Chengdu can receive calls now

http://fanfou.com/statuses/g2QgIe8OWzM
Monday 22:25 http://ledao.in/blog.php?blog_id=156

汶川是去九寨沟的必经之路，那里山势陡峭，地表植被因过度开采受损，而岷江流经此地，造成水土流失严重，是个容易发生地质灾害的地方，这次惨了。

Wenchuan is on the way to Jiuzaigou; the terrain there is all craggy mountains. Due to excess ore extraction all surface plants have been damaged and then you have the Min River passing through there, creating great risk of mudslides and making this an easy place for geological disasters to happen. This has been tragic.

四川大学要求同学离开宿舍通知4点余震开始

Sichuan University has ordered all students out of dorms, saying aftershocks to being at 4pm

https://twitter.com/shizhao/statuses/809213970

据说四川地区CDMA，小灵通可以打通

Sounds like CDMA and local network phones are working in the Sichuan region

https://twitter.com/niubi/statuses/809205236

chengdu airport closed. flights heading there beijing redirectede to chongqing

https://twitter.com/guiyinzhang/statuses/809162622
Monday 5:30 pm: https://twitter.com/Aether/statuses/809193571

成都互联网通讯有能连上的了。

The internet is connected in Chengdu

http://fanfou.com/statuses/l6XlCAxBJCI

绵阳花盆啥的都碎了，饮水机震倒说塌了好多房子，人都到河堤上去了

Flowerpots and everything are broken in Mianyang, water coolers shaking, many houses have collapsed, everybody has gone to the banks of the river.

http://fanfou.com/statuses/aOdJ1I6y1YU

四川阿坝州理县县城1人死亡8人重伤汶川县发生7.8级地震后，截止12日17时10分，阿坝州政府应急办了解到的情况是：汶川、理县、茂县交通、通讯全面中断，黑水、小金、金川、马尔康、松潘、九寨沟等县均有房屋倒塌、道路中断、山体滑坡、人员伤亡(其中茂县林业电台报告伤亡人员较多，

One dead and eight seriously hurt in Lixian County, Abazhou, Sichuan. At 5:10pm government issued urgent notice, traffic and communications completely cut off in Wenchuan, Lixian and Maoxian; houses have collapsed and roads cut off and persons injured by mountain run-off in Heishui, Xiaojin, Ma'erkang, Songfan and Jiuzaigou,

Beijing
https://twitter.com/flypig/statuses/809127403

中国南北网络断了吗？怎么啥都上不去了？

Has the China internet backbone been cut? Why can't I get online?

https://twitter.com/imagethief/statuses/809121832
https://twitter.com/kaiserkuo/statuses/809123623
https://twitter.com/kaiserkuo/statuses/809124220
https://twitter.com/Tangos/statuses/809124276
https://twitter.com/niubi/statuses/809132301
https://twitter.com/fuzheado/statuses/809131321
photo https://twitter.com/flypig/statuses/809135452

Shanghai
https://twitter.com/nocas/statuses/809139803
https://twitter.com/casperodj/statuses/809196553
https://twitter.com/leoshcn/statuses/809195725

Shaanxi
https://twitter.com/yesky12/statuses/809191510
https://twitter.com/QienKuen/statuses/809199223

只能和西安那边发短信，电话打不进去。。

I can only text with people in Xi'an, can't get through by phone…

Henan
Monday 21:39 http://jiwai.de/jiangyh/statuses/8802154

15时48分，河南省地震局通过手机短信、电视、广播等形式，向群众发布震情提示：“地震台网测定今天14：28四川汶川发生7.8级地震，震感波及我省，不会影响正常生活，请不要恐慌，本局正关…

At 3:48 pm the Henan Seismological Bureau sent out a warning to the public through mobile phone text message, television and radio: “The Seismological Station Web has determined that at 2:28 today a 7.8 scale earthquake took place in Wenchuan, Sichuan; the earthquake shocks have affected our province, but will not affect day-to-day life, please do not panic, the Bureau is looking into this…”

http://fanfou.com/statuses/O8h2ttRuQJ8

郑州国家电网公司的大楼都疏散到空地了

The State Power Grid Tower in Zhengzhou has been evacuated

Jiangxi
http://fanfou.com/statuses/7bjUhAwYzH8

Anhui
https://twitter.com/seekDench/statuses/809183753

Guangdong
Monday 21:19 http://fanfou.com/statuses/LhifhcSKPXw

76年的唐山地震马上就被翻出。现在全国最忙碌最紧张最加班加点的部门不是地震局，不是救灾队，是中宣部

Soon this will have been bigger than the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. Right now the busiest most nervous department putting in the most extra shifts isn't the Seismological Bureau, not the Disaster Relief Squads, it's the Central Propaganda Department

Zhejiang
https://twitter.com/Fenng/statuses/809127914

杭州网络正常。公司大部分同事都跑到外面去了。

The internet is functioning normally in Hangzhou. Most people in the office here have gone outside.

http://fanfou.com/statuses/k0jIs0Mkmz8

浙江嘉兴、上海间发生5.7级地震暂无人员伤亡

5.7 earthquake between Jiaxing in Zhejiang province and Shanghai. Nobody injured at present.

http://fanfou.com/statuses/nOwacdhRpdA
宁波世贸中心大楼倾斜3度！！！！！！！！！！！！
The World Trade Center in Ningbo has tilted 3 degrees!!!!!!!!

Chongqing
https://twitter.com/Tangos/statuses/809188431
https://twitter.com/shizhao/statuses/809211439

重庆2小学倒塌，4学生死亡

Two primary schools in Chongqing have collapsed, four students dead

Changsha
http://twitter.com/dadi007/statuses/809209238

Guangxi
http://fanfou.com/statuses/8lgMEGMOzUE

Hubei
Wuchang: http://twitter.com/lenvow/statuses/809197185

湖北多地有地震震感武昌出现手机信号盲区

Many places in Hubei felt the earthquake; Wuchang is experiencing cellphone blind zones.

China: Earthquake in Sichuan

Preetam Rai — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:12:24 +0000

Beijing based Singapore blogger Alvin writes about the quake in Sichuan being felt in Beijing this afternoon. “Robina called me frantically that the building was swaying. she grabbed Sally and ran out. Sally is still panting from the excitement. all the people from our apartment building came downstairs. nearby office buildings were evacuated. “

Afghanistan: American Researcher Dies in Attack

Adil Nurmakov — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:44:15 +0000

Barnett Rubin reports that Michael Vinay Bhatia, a researcher well known to many of those working on Afghanistan, died in an IED attack on his vehicle in Khost Province, Afghanistan, on May 7, 2008.

PangeaDay: an event lived worldwide

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 12 May 2008 04:14:27 +0000

Pangea Day took place Saturday, and people from different parts of the world got together to watch movies and be a part of the worldwide event where movies, speakers and music showed us a bit of life on the other side of the globe, uniting people from all walks of life to believe that we aren't as different as we would believe. It also included a mobile video contest, with an international lineup of winners.

From Kigali in Rwanda, one of the 5 main screening locations, a slide-show of photographs from the event uploaded on OVI, the video and image platform used to promote PangeaDay content:

From Haifa in Israel, another slide-show of the gathering to watch the event near the Caesarea Port:

During the Event,the friends of Pangea website had live streaming feeds from different places in the world including US, Colombia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand. Other sites, like the Colombian Medellín PangeaDay [es] event had their own website where liveblogging, streaming video and photographs were posted during the event.

Nokia, a PangeaDay partner had the 2008 Nokia Mobile Filmmaking Awards Contest taking place along with the events, and the 5 finalists were flown into one of the 5 different screening locations. You can view the winning videos at this pangeaday OVI site.The finalists were: Rounds all around us by kayoom in India, smile by goofylopez in Indonesia, amazing rainbows! Shot and Edited with my Nokia 93 by ruperthowe in the United Kingdom, The Game -South African Children having fun in a Video Games Room by ecachucho and Clouds Running by pierba in Italy.

The Grand Prize winner on the Pangea/Nokia OVI website is ecachucho with his video on South African children playing arcade games, who won a trip to the Rwandan Gorilla Reserve, with a full crew to help the winner record his trip.

A side draw organized between Nokia and Womworld, which results were announced by David Howell Studios, the creator of the winning video would receive a Nokia N82, a carrying case, tripod, memory card, headphones and speakers. This chosen video was Amazing Rainbows, and in his announcement he mentioned that the winner was chosen because they portrayed best the spirit of the mobile video: recording those once in a lifetime moments that could be gone and never repeat themselves.

Myanmar: Survivors of Cyclone Nargis

Mong Palatino — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:20:25 +0000

A week has passed since Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar. The situation on the ground continues to deteriorate: food rationing is inadequate, medical supplies are running out and hundreds of thousands are still without shelter.

Burma Cyclone provides general updates of the situation in Myanmar. Bangkok Parlour fears there will be more casualties due to cholera and other diseases:

“The prognosis is bad. 65,000 dead, possibly in excess of 100,000. More than 1 million homeless, battling to stave off hunger and disease whilst living amidst debris and bloated bodies. Cholera may yet kill more than the cyclone.”

Bangkok Dazed received another email from a friend in Yangon:

“I’m fine but so many others, so many, are homeless or dead or without shelter. I really did not take much notice of the cyclone warnings from the state media although they did say it would be serious. Now I am careful of batteries in my laptop, but thank god I can send emails. I hope this gets to you. I have no power but everything is alright. Writing this by torch and candlelight. It was a very scary 13 hours from before midnight of the 2nd to afternoon of next day. Had a slight accident with my car, front grill/lights ripped out. I am unhurt but rattled. So many trees are down … Yangon looks wounded.”

Fear from Freedom feels sad after reading a Burmese blog:

“These are the educated youth of Myanmar with no hope for their future inside the country. He said that he did not want to live in this country when he is 30 in 2010. He wrote about the cyclone in his blog and today he and his friends are trying their best to help the victims.

“According to his news, the cyclone victims are desperate, hungry and grab whatever they can from any office or donors. Cholera is spreading, no clean water, no security, transport is bad, everything in chaos.

“Is there anyone that can calm the situation and promise help to these victims?”

Myat Thura gets an update from his family:

“After the cyclone, the prices of commodities rose to 50% of that before the cyclone; but now they have stabilized to around 20% above the pre-cyclone level. Petrol price is now 5,000 kyats a gallon (around 4 US dollars).

“Most of the main roads have been cleared of the debris and fallen trees. Electricity is coming back in a few areas but most places are still without electricity. Municipal water is coming back.”

The Junta has partially allowed the entry of some foreign aid teams. Perhaps international pressure has worked. Golden Colour Revolution posts a letter which is a sample of the sentiments expressed by Burmese living overseas:

“We, Burmese medical professionals and Burmese civic organizations all over the world have been following the news of cyclone Nargis victims with deep sympathy and concerns. Cyclone victims have been without effective help for 6 days now and we are very much concerned about unnecessary human suffering and deaths. The situation is extremely dire with many people barely surviving.”

Rule of Lords gathers stories on relief operations. He notes that

“doctors are using their own money to buy medicines and townspeople are organizing to feed the refugees and victims of the storm being treated at the hospital.”

Even local relief groups are prevented from giving aid to victims:

“Private citizens and domestic social welfare groups within Burma trying to give assistance have encountered problems with authorities. According to VOA, residents have complained of harassment and questioning when they have taken whatever supplies of food, clothing and other items to badly affected persons.”

Residents are now complaining of the little assistance they are receiving form local councils:

“Yoma 3 says that people in Rangoon are getting angrier about their predicament and the small amounts of assistance given by local councils. According to one resident of ward no. 8 in Shwepyithar,

“We heard that they would distribute food and went to find that it was only one pyi (about a quarter litre) of rice grain and one hseithar (about 160gm) of potato per household, and even then it just went to the people close to the USDA and Women’s Affairs, which led them to argue with the other people.”

“In some other areas victims of the cyclone have been getting pathetic amounts of assistance and they have been forced to boil the rice grain as a thin soup because there is not enough of it to cook as normal.”

Burma Partnership gives an update:

“Malaria and cholera cases and death in delta around worse-hit areas of Laputta, Bogalay and Pyapon Townships and around 600 villages are still under water. The current situation is quite overwhelmed and many heartbreaking stories emerge as some local residents and aid workers are able to reach to areas like Laputta, Bogalay, Pyapon, and Hinegyi Island. On Thursday (8/5/08), the regime turned back one relief flight with the reason that it carried search and rescue team plus media without permission.”

Moe Gyo provides a narrative of how volunteers are distributing aid inside Myanmar:

10 May 2008 (Saturday)

07:55 hr - Left Yangon (through Hlaing Thar Yar)
08:45 hr - Reached Ayeyarwaddy Division
10:20 hr - Passed through MaUBin (from junction to MaUBin - bad road condition) - fair destruction along the road
10:40 hr - Passed through KyaitLatt (MuB - KyL: fair road condition) - severe (buildings/trees) destruction along the road and in KyaitLatt town
11:30 hr - Reached Phyar Bon (KyL - PhB: fair road and poor bridge condition) - severe destruction in Phyar Bon (some relief camps there - don't know the number)

12:30 hr - Arrived Bogalay Township - Flat tire, helped by locals, who shared their experience: received warning in the morning at around 7 on ward by speakers (they know only for the Bogalay town, but not sure about the villages around/across the river, near sea), no evacuation plan, many people didn't pay much attention as they didn't expect much danger based on the past Tsunami experience in Delta (little damage), they started noticing of heavy winds around 6 p.m. and became stronger, the sky were totally red, wind blew from different direction, then many people in town took shelter in neighbors' houses (with brick-wall/strong roofs), debris everywhere, one person said it could have been worse (more casualties) in town if happened during the day time as many people were on the road (20 deaths in Bogalay town - figure not confirmed), water went up to about 3 feet in town and reached up to 20 feet in surrounding villages, where thousands died. Those who helped us said that they will never forget the experience and they lost their houses (saw in person), but they seemed to have high-spirit waiting for help to rebuild their houses (now they got help from their neighbors for shelter and rice from relief camps). But, under the condition, they shouldn't wait any minutes. Distributed a few bags of milo, ovaltine, some food etc. to them and gave a tent-sheet (bought from BKK) to an elderly who still lived under a house with no roof (experienced some rain). The conditions in surrounded areas of Bogalay are very bad as the authority had to issue Martial Law in some areas (some looting and killing for food). Those who survived (7-8 only in some villages) left their villages.

14:00 hr - Went to the river bank (similar to Tsumani affected area to some extent - based on what we saw in Phuket area). Talked to some locals: situation is still very chaotic, they saw 4-5 bodies in the river, we saw one, nobody seemed to care about that even we saw some people around and they were trying to save an engine from the river). Saw some victim family/refugees in a monastery, but couldn't talk to them due to time constraint. One thing that surprised me was that we didn't hear anyone crying for help or asking desperately for food/shelter. I'm sure that will be a very different story in severely affected areas that can be reached by boats. Some aid workers and volunteers have already arranged with some boats to reach there to deliver supplies.
15:00 hr - Left Bogalay (after fixing the spare-tire. Note: everyone must take a spare-tire as the roads were full of debris in some areas)
16:45 hr - Passed through Kawt Mhuu (fair road, bad destruction along the road) - heavy rain

Conclusion, based on this experience, it's very feasible to reach to the affected areas in Delta very quickly. Road conditions in some areas are bad, but manageable: with normal speed (40-50 km/h), even Bogalay can be reached within 4-5 hours. Since some bridges are not strong enough, heavy supplies (such as rice) wouldn't be practical. There were some normal checkpoints (asked questions: where to go? driver's name?) One must avoid any argument with the authorities at the checkpoints as it might just delay achieving your main objectives.

Golden Colour Revolution shares the complaint of a relief group operating in Myanmar:

“You have seen and heard about the situation in here. Yesterday, we distributed the food and shelter to the cyclone affected area within our project area. It's totally 800 household and as our project is the food security project we need to support them in this situation.

“But today we received the letter from the authorities to stop that without the permission. Now, all the NGOs are trying to support and go to the effected area, and but we cannot go immediately as gov don't want to permit it. They ask us to give support through them.

“So you can think and imagine of the people in delta region. U know, this is not the politic, it's really humanity matter. We are now sitting many meetings in the office all the time and busy with storing the materials.

“All the Burmese people outside of Myanmar should do something for that. Pls pray for all the refugees. “

Ur's sister.

KyiMayKaung ponders on the recent tragedy:

“Nargis is a beautiful word and means “narcissus” in Urdu. It was also the name of a famous Bollywood actress who was achingly beautiful, with a pale oval face, black arched eyebrows and plump arms. In one of the novels of Salman Rushdie, the woman who cooks, but cooks with rancor, turns out nargissi kofta, or deep fried meat balls encasing hard boiled eggs, otherwise known as Scotch eggs.

“Something so beautifully named has caused a lot of death and destruction. We are only now starting to hear excruciating survivor stories.”