Blogs become eyes and ears of disaster By LISA PRIEST >From Wednesday's Globe and Mail The Internet has quickly become the eyes and ears of the tsunami disaster.
Over the past few days, news reports, amateur videos, dispatches from survivors and fundraising efforts have become part of the dialogue in the so-called blogosphere, the part of the World Wide Web that includes anything from personal diaries to political campaigns. Some people are using blog technology to request help, others to provide up-to-date information on the disaster. Below are personal journals published on the Web. On http://evelynrodriguez.typepad.com, Evelyn Rodriguez wrote under Crossroads Dispatch: "A lot of people heard about the devastation caused by the earthquake in Indonesia. I was on Phi Phi Don island off the Andaman coast of Thailand when the tidal wave hit. . . . We were on a boat tour when the captain dramatically veered off course (we were headed to remote Bamboo Island) and was frantically talking on his cellphone. Their English was very poor so it was not clear what was going on. Long story short, we got on the beach but were too low when the tidal wave struck. It created a flash-flood effect and I was in the middle of rapids containing debris, wood and all matter of building material. . . . I cut my knee up pretty bad and have trouble walking but nothing broken. I am fine considering the state of most of Phi Phi and the rest of the folks here in Phuket hospital. Unfortunately, all of our stuff was on a bungalow hotel called Maprao about 40 minutes from where the boat landed, so we were not able to go back and get any of our things. Thus, currently nearly penniless, passport-less, travel insurance-less, etc. at the moment. But at the hospital everything is free, including e-mail access. Unfortunately, the U.S. embassy has not been very helpful in contrast to other embassies and we don't know much logistically in terms of loans, passports, retrieving our stuff, etc. The ambassador to Sweden personally visited all the Swedes (several were on our boat trip)." Jean Sylvia wrote yesterday morning on blogs.vbcity.com: "I was speaking to my son the morning it happened, he was staying on the beach, his phone went dead. "His name is John, and visits often, do any of you know him or have seen him? You can e-mail me at [EMAIL PROTECTED]" Lillian of Penang, Malaysia, wrote on www.jeffooi.com: "Things started to get wobbly and the siren we had in our apartment units started screaming. We have a siren which the guards will activate when floodwaters get high. Neighbours are already shouting for people to go down to the open. . . . So, I scooped up my toddler, minus wearing contact lenses or spectacles . . . and went to my other kids' room . . ." Peter Tan, who describes himself as a Roman Catholic Malaysian-Chinese, wrote this from Penang, Malaysia, on www.petertan.com/blog: "I called my cousin in Pulau Betong to check if they were really all right. Yes, they are, thankfully. Her son had assured me yesterday that they were all safe. She related to me about a pregnant woman who drowned while she was bathing and got swept out to sea by the waves. "The fish-landing there, where fishermen traded the catch of the day, was completely ravaged and the area submerged under 1.5 metres of water at the peak of the disaster. "Her house, which was further inland, was spared, but her in-laws' house was flooded by 30 centimetres of seawater that rushed in and overwhelmed the estuary . . . and overflowed the river banks. . . . Both sides . . . are swathed by mangrove swamps. A little further in, nipah palms and rickety wooden jetties dot the river where fishing boats are moored." Lucia Lai, who describes herself as a Chinese Catholic woman who works in the administrative/clerical field, wrote this on http://www.jeffooi.com from Penang, Malaysia: "I normally don't wake up so early on a Sunday morning, but this morning I woke up early as wanted to go to the 10 a.m. mass at the cathedral. Well, about 9 a.m., I was busy powdering my face after washing my face when I suddenly felt like the sink and mirror moving, and sense like the whole floor shaking a bit. . . . Then I thought nothing about it. But two minutes later, my mom emerged from the toilet and asked us whether we felt the building shook, and I then realized it was not me . . . Anyway I felt the tremors for only a few seconds." On http://www.femalefirst.co.uk, a woman who goes by the name Guimei wrote: "I was there. South of Thailand right next to the beach. Didn't feel a thing. That's what Christmas day and vast quantities of alcohol can do! In fact I'll admit that I thought it was a bit weird that the plane was half empty when I came home. Now I know why." And on http://blogs.vbcity.com, Andrew Sutton, who writes under the name Shandy, penned this from Phuket, Thailand, yesterday: "It is now over 48 hours after the tsunami struck. The clear-up operation is well under way. The only signs on the beach hinting at the disaster are the lack of deck chairs. People are back on the sand lying on towels. A few of the beachside hotels and bars have opened again. The debris has been cleared from the main street and several buildings have been demolished. We have regular helicopter patrols overhead and the odd airplane. There are many water tankers passing through. . . ." The British Broadcasting Corporation has also invited survivors to post their stories on its website. Here are two messages from Canadians: "Message to Kevin Tunbridge, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk: Our daughter Lindsey says that they are stranded in Koh Lanta (southern Thailand) as of afternoon of Dec. 27 (their time). Ferry was not running to Krabi. People safe at higher levels." Marla Wyer, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Also on the BBC was this message from Damean of Canada: "My uncle who lives in Kalmunai, Batticaloa, in Sri Lanka had his house destroyed while he was at church a mere 15 minutes away." - Forwarded by AlmeidaG(ji), www.goa-world.com/goa/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
